Masses to Masses
by iNf3ctioNZ
Summary: After a freak event sends me into the ME universe 2 years before ME1, I find myself working at C-Sec. As if dealing with serial killers, drug smugglers, and Garrus Vakarian wasn't enough, I need to work out why I was sent here, and I need to survive. Thanks to wielkiboss on DeviantArt for the cover.
1. Prologue and Arrival

Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, my first fic! Thanks to Herr Wozzeck for being my inspiration to write this story, and supporting me through the planning pages. You should visit his profile page, read his fics…and if you enjoy this, read his fic Mass Vexations, it's some crazy good stuff.**

**So the premise of this is I'm going to arrive on the Citadel two years before the events of ME1. There is going to be an overarching plot line to this, and yes there will definitely be a continuation into Mass Effect 1 and possibly 2, depending on Virmire ;). So if you're confused as to what my purpose is going to be in the Mass Effect universe, all will be revealed…but not for a long time, so stick with it!**

**Obligatory disclaimers: Mass Effect, its characters, its setting, and all the other stuff in the Mass Effect universe is not owned by me. It's owned by the geniuses at BioWare. I also do not own any bands, companies, products etc. that I mention.**

I'm sitting at home, staring at my laptop screen. Typical weekday night. iTunes is on, and I've got Circa Survive blaring through my headphones, Windows Live messenger is open, and my friend Dan on the chat is rambling on about the World Cup and England getting beaten. I sigh at that. Why is everyone so surprised we're out the World Cup? England have always been crap, yet ridiculously optimistic about the whole affair, then everyone acts shocked and appalled when we don't win for the eleventh time running. Football does my head in. I check back at the screen.

"_I can't believe we drew with the USA in the first place mate! It's a bloody outrage!"_

Dan always gets into his football far, far too much.

"_Dan_," I type back, "_You realise I really don't give a shit about the football, right?"_

Dan replies almost instantly.

"_Yeah :) but it's funny to see you get worked up about it."_

I let out a small laugh at that. "_Lol, fair enough."_

I wait for a bit, but there's no reply. I haven't really left much room for him to work with there, but I'm tired and really can't be arsed with the conversation for much longer. Might just finish this track then log off…

The messenger sound pings again, and, shockingly, it's Dan again.

"_Mate, just heard about this CRAZY shit on the internet. Apparently some guy said 'Bloody Mary' three times into his mirror. Then this Mary lass came up behind him and fucking murdered the guy! And if I don't tell ten people about it in twenty four hours, she's gonna get me too!"_

Gullible bastard. "_Where'd you hear this?"_

"_Someone sent it to my email address. I don't know who!"_

"_It's a chain mail."_

"_What?"_

"_Chain mail. Some idiot sends a message to people telling them they're going to die if they don't pass the message on, and the people do pass the message on, until the mail passes around the globe. It's just some moron trying to freak people out."_

"_I'm not risking it man! I'm sending it to everyone I know!"_

I shake my head in a mixture of disbelief and amusement. People get so worked about nothing. Which leads my thoughts back to football again. Damn.

"_Suit yourself bro."_

"_We'll see who's laughing when you're dead!"_

Shit, that's pretty sinister. Not the best way to sign off on a conversation. Oh well.

"_Yeah, I'm sure we will. See you later."_

I sign out without giving him the chance to reply. Dan's a good guy, but he can grate on the nerves occasionally. Which reminds me, I'm supposed to be going to the cinema to see the new Iron Man film with him and some other mates this weekend. He'll have probably forgotten about the whole thing by then. I'm just going to watch some TV, then go to bed. I've got university tomorrow, and that law degree isn't going to earn itself, unfortunately. Then training down at the track after that…yeah, better rest up.

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It's 11PM, according to the clock by my sink, and I'm brushing my teeth, staring at my reflection. British TV really is rubbish these days. All there was on offer was some reality TV thing about eating habits, a documentary about meerkats, local news, or a bad comedy show that's convinced it's hilarious. I decided to watch some of the first series of Chuck off my DVD collection. It's depressing that to see the best shows I have to import them from America. It didn't really matter what I was watching anyway, the entire time I was thinking about what Dan said, and I still am now. Bloody Mary three times, and someone kills you. Bullshit. I can't believe I'm even thinking about this. It's my paranoid instinct kicking in. Damn you, survival horror games! A mixture of playing the Resident Evil remake and Silent Hill has made me paranoid beyond belief. After Resident Evil 4, I think every fridge I walk past is going to have a guy on fire inside it trying to kill me.

I spit the mixture of toothpaste and saliva down the sink, it swirls down and through the plughole in a spiralling motion. I toy with the idea of playing Silent Hill now that I've reminded myself about it, but decide against it. It's dark, I'm alone in my flat, and I'm up to that creepy bit in the carnival. Better not, or I'll be having nightmares all night of bunnies with knives. I take one last look in the mirror, same tired face staring back at me like the all the other times I've checked in the last five minutes. 'Go to bed, Ian' it seems to be saying. 'You're a bloody mess.' I sigh and do just that. When your reflection appears to be talking to you, you probably need some rest.

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Fifteen minutes later, and I'm standing in front of the mirror again. It's not Silent Hill keeping me awake now, I'm thinking about what Dan said about Bloody Mary. Again. Damn paranoia is keeping me awake now. Fantastic. I stare at my reflection again, searching for some change in my appearance from the other dozen times of checking. Nothing. Screw it, I'm not going to sleep with these thoughts hanging over my head. May as well just try it, humour myself and get some bizarre sense of closure on the whole thing. I stick the new Pendulum album on my speakers to try and keep me awake. Drum and bass tends to have that effect when it's at full volume. I start to talk to the mirror.

"Bloody Mary."

This sounds so ridiculous. Probably looks it to. Good thing I live alone.

"Bloody Mary."

Well, nothing's happened so far. And why am I expecting anything to? God, so fucking paranoid!

"Bloody Mary."

Again, nothing happens. It's just me, the bathroom and my reflection. I let out the breath I didn't even realise I was holding in. Shit, that was intense. I start to pull away from the mirror, but my eyes are suddenly drawn towards a small speck in the top left of it. I squint, and it looks like a small red bead. Huh, that's weird…wait, now its running down the mirror…there's no way that can be blood, right? I'm starting to feel light headed, and seeing blood doesn't normally do that me. Something is going horribly wrong here, and I'm getting pretty freaked out. Suddenly, the lights dim slightly, and I find myself staring back at my reflection in the mirror, head pounding and the remnants of light swimming. Then, I see a hand reach over my shoulder, and grasp it tightly, the nails digging into my skin. What the hell? No fucking way, this is not happening…I try to pull away from the sink and the mirror, but I'm stuck! I physically can't move! No, no, no, no…then, her head appears over my shoulder. The blue skin, the tentacle like things on the back of her head…no way. Bloody Mary is an asari! I'm tripping out, this has got to be a nightmare! She's staring right into my eyes now, small, evil grin etched upon her face. Her eyes start to go really weird, and her grip on me tightens. Wait a minute, her eyes going weird, she's trying to meld with me! I desperately attempt to break eye contact, but our eyes are locked together, and she's opening her mouth to say the last two words I want to hear.

"Embrace eternity!"

There's a flash, and suddenly it feels like I'm floating, a disembodied viewer on the scene stretching out before me. It's the insides of some great machine, and the head splitting sound being emitted around me is almost unbearable. There's some figure standing, but hunched over in pain…then it's back to the machine, its maw opening wide. More mechanical parts, a glimpse of some bug-like thing, pictures of DNA strands, a human figure standing alone against a shout of anger from the machine as a gigantic explosion lights up the world... then more figures of some different race, hugging each other as the world collapses around them…then back to the machine, then to a another person falling to the ground on some vast battlefield, a synthetic roar of triumph raging through my ears as the galaxy expands before my eyes and stars explode around me…

And then nothing but inky blackness, as unconsciousness finally takes me.

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There's little images flickering before my eyes. Small pictures of machines, cries of fear ringing in my ears…I sit bolt upright, clutching my ears and throwing my eyes wide open. The sight that hits me is unbelievable.

Arms of some superstructure stretch far, far into the distance, the small lights on them like stars from where I'm sitting. Whitewashed floors and walls either side of me…there's no way this can be real. I'm dreaming. This whole fucked up thing has been a dream. Soon I'm gonna wake up, it's like that bit at the start of Silent Hill 3 where Heather dies, then wakes up in the shopping mall…no asari trying to get inside my head, no cataclysmic vision, no futuristic cities in space…I close my eyes tight shut for a few seconds, then open them again. Nothing has changed. I'm still on the Citadel, light-years away from my home planet. I've got visions running through my minds and screams in my ears, and, for the first time in my life, I'm completely lost, alone and afraid.

I slump against the wall, put my head into my hands, and try to figure out what the fuck I've just got myself into.

After the calming experience of going through the emotions of fear, denial, disbelief and eventual acceptance in the space of around five minutes, I've finally managed to sort myself out enough to get myself together and consider my situation. From what I can tell, I've been abducted, killed, in some way transported here by an asari, who was somehow on Earth in the year 2010. Also, I've been given a Prothean vision eerily like the one Shepard receives on Eden Prime, but I know I've been given something more…if only I could work out what. Finally, I'm now on what appears to be the Citadel, lost, with no money and completely unprepared for what I'm going to find. Dan said we'd see who was laughing, and I hate to admit he was right. If I ever get out this situation, I'm resolving to pay more attention to chain mail. You're a Nigerian banker struggling to get money out of your country? No problem, let me give you my bank details, just don't send me 170 years into the freakin' future! I wonder if this is how Bill Murray's character felt when he woke up in the same day for the first time in _Groundhog Day,_ except with more swearing, trauma and less hilarious consequences. I poke my head around the corner of the corridor, just to check this is really the Mass Effect universe, not some other alternative universe. A turian looks at me, probably surprised to see a random human staring at him. The scene unfolds before me, salarians, turians, humans, even a hanar are walking, or in the hanar's case, floating around the area. I duck back behind the corner, and finally realise the full gravity of the situation.

Houston, we DEFINITELY have a problem.


	2. New World and CSec

Chapter 2

I'm shuddering, but I poke my head back around the corner again, just to be sure. Yep, that's definitely a turian, and now he's giving me a pretty odd look now. Perfect, that's remaining inconspicuous nailed down. I retreat back into the alley, trying to relax and control my breathing and emotions. Which is pretty hard when you've been catapulted a hundred odd years into the future. Shit, I still don't know what happened to the me on Earth? Did I just disappear? Did I die? Is Dan standing over my corpse laughing and shouting 'I told you so' over and over again into my face? No, don't think about that now. Survival first, considering massive repercussions of what just happened later. I need to get out of here first and find out what the hell is going on. I weigh up my options. First rule of fitting in, appear confident. I just need to pretend this is all natural to me. Just walk tall and act casual. It like in the Bourne films where Matt Damon walks into danger as if he was taking a walk in the park. Yeah, I can do that. I breathe in and out deeply, then take my first steps out into the Mass Effect universe, nodding politely at the turian standing outside the alley. He gives me a barely disguised glare of hostility. Well, interspecies relations are going smoothly so far. First turian I see hates me on sight. Hopefully that's not a sign of things to come. I start to walk along the path, taking in the sights.

Right, from my limited memory of the Citadel this looks like the Presidium. White corridors and walkways, large river…yeah, this is definitely the place. God, it's so…big in real life. I need to take a seat and get my bearings. Sitting down on a nearby bench, I realise one major detail that's making me stand out like a sore thumb. Everyone here is wearing their futuristic space clothes, and I'm wearing a blue t-shirt, belt, jeans and Converse sneakers. Despite the fact people in the future dress really weird, I still feel odd, and have the nagging suspicion everyone is watching me…God this is embarrassing…I take a quick glance at two salarians who are talking near me. Good, they don't seem to have noticed. "Weird human…" I hear one of them say, shaking his head. The other guy nods his head vigorously in agreement. What the fuck! I've got the nerds of the Mass Effect universe taking the piss out of me now! I glare at the pair of them, they stare impassively back. Shit. I'm not going to beat a lizard-esque creature in a staring contest, so I back off.

Thinking about what I'm wearing reminds of all the other things I've brought from 2010…I start to rummage around in my pockets to see what I've got with me. Phone, iPod touch, keys, £2.34 in change…wait a minute! I whip out the iPod, then hastily cover it with one arm when I realise it's gonna make me look even more weird than I do already, and open up my home screen, praying the apps I'm looking for are there. Staring back at me are the guides I downloaded for ME1 and 2. Perfect! I felt like a cheap bastard for downloading them in the first place, but it looks my compulsiveness to complete games 100% has paid off! I'm also amazed the iPod surprised a jump through space and time. Apple definitely didn't mention that in the product specifications! I'm pleasantly surprised to see an Apple product that is reliable enough to make it through into a parallel universe. I open up the map page on the Mass Effect guide and try to get my bearings. I'm not going to last long without getting some credits and food, so looks like I'm off to pawn my spare stuff to the Citadel shop-keepers. I'm going to look suspicious selling off old antiques…hmm…looks like the shops at Chora's Den are going to be my best bet. Onwards to glory! And hopefully a hefty sum of credits!

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Great, I'm lost. I'm not sure what floor of the Citadel Chora's Den is on, so I've been running around in circles for about half an hour now, getting literally nowhere. I can hear the music from the club reverberating around the walls, but it's not helping me find where I'm going, and it's just get annoying. People still seem to love weak electro music in the future…something tells me I'm not going to be hearing much of The Killers for a long, long time. Anyway, it looks like I'm going to have to swallow what's left of my pride and just ask someone where to go. There's a batarian leaning against a wall to my left smoking a cigarette. Hundred years into the future and people STILL smoke? They STILL haven't take notice of the health risks? Putting it to the back of my mind, I approach the batarian cautiously. "Excuse me," I say. The batarian turns to look at me. Six eyes. Shit, that's really creepy. "Can you point me to Chora's Den? I'm kind of lost and…"

"Not from round these parts, are you?" the guy asks. His voice is gravelly, like most of the batarians in the game. "You're dressed pretty weird too. That stuff looks old, probably worth a lot, right?"

I nod carefully. "I guess…" I start to say.

Quick as a flash, the batarian whips out a pistol from somewhere in his clothing. "Hand them over then. Now."

Oh, great. I'm being mugged. Just what I needed.

"Alright mate," I say calmly, raising my hands into the air. "Let's all stay calm."

The batarian looks around nervously. "I said hand them over! Hurry the fuck up!" He takes a step towards me, moving the gun slightly as his balance changes. That's when I strike, aiming a punch at his gun hand as hard as I can. The gun goes flying out of his hand and clatters to the floor a few feet away. I throw my weight into a kick at the stunned batarian, catching him in the chest and knocking him a few steps back. Wow, that went amazingly well for some improvised moves! He looks up at me, a mixture of shock and anger written upon his face. "You'll pay for that, you bastard!" he yells, and charges at me. I definitely wasn't prepared for that. He grabs me round the waist and tackles me to the ground, punching me right in the middle of the face. Shit, that hurts! Improvisation isn't so great after all! I catch his follow-up punch with my left hand, and hook him with my right, knocking him off me and buying me enough time to stand up and face him again. He tries another wild charge, but the punch has thrown him off balance a little bit, letting me sidestep and deliver another blow to the back of his head as he rushes past, sending him sprawling to the ground. I can hear him trying to get up behind me, but I ignore him and rush forward to where his pistol is lying. Picking it up, I turn and point it at the batarian who's still lying on the floor, looking at me, obviously unable to get up. "Go on then human," he sneers, "Kill me." He spits blood on the floor in front of himself, a last sign of defiance.

I look at the guy. One of his eyes is weeping blood, and he's in a pretty sorry state overall. On the other hand, the guy tried to kill me, for God's sake! I should blow his fucking brains out! Now the tables have been turned, and with the gun I feel a real surge of power. I think about pulling the trigger. I really do. But I know it's not worth it. I'm not a killer. I walk up to him and kick him in the face, knocking him out cold. I look around the alley again, and no-one else is around. Wow, I just made my first Paragon/Renegade decision! Awesome! And the fact the robber is still breathing shows I'm definitely Paragon. That said, may as well search the guy's pockets, see what he's got on him. They never gave you that option in the game. After much searching, I've found 300 credits or so, and a snazzy holster for the pistol I picked up. I take one last look back at the batarian's prone body, consider making some witty quip, then realise it'll make me look, sound and feel like an utter prick. So instead I just leave the alley to find someone nicer to give me directions.

#########################################################

So I finally got to the vendors near Chora's Den, and sold one volus shopkeeper my phone and the change I had from 2010. The little guy was ecstatic when I showed him the stuff, but he kept asking me where I got it, and I really wasn't in the mood. After fiddling with my pistol and clearing my throat, I got him to agree to buying them at ten thousand credits together. I'm sure they were worth more, but I only need enough to live off, and I'm sure the volus will be able to get rich selling them to someone who really appreciates their value. Now I'm heading towards a public terminal to check my options. There's no way I'm going to be able to survive here by myself, that's for sure, but I've got a plan formulating in my mind. Hopefully I should be able to somehow find Commander Shepard and get recruited…I mean that's how most self-insert authors seem to get by in the Mass Effect. Of course, this isn't a self-insert fanfiction, but the logic of meeting Shepard still stands. I log onto an extranet terminal, thinking about how I'm going to get recruited. Maybe I should try and meet up with Tali or something, that'll be a good way to get the ball rolling.

I glance at the extranet terminal, which has finished loading. Now I'll just do a quick search for Commander Shep….wait, that date can't be right, there's no way it's the year 2181…but the events of Mass Effect happen in 2183! That means I'm two years early! I look around me frantically, taking in all the alien races around me. This is not a game. This is serious business. Suddenly this all just got very real. How am I going to survive? I need a job, need to set everything up so I can join Shepard in two years time! No no no…this cannot be happening. I stare back up at the screen of the terminal, and take a look at the results on Shepard. Nothing I don't already know…fantastic N7 Alliance soldier, oh, it's a FemShepard! That could be interesting, if I ever meet her. Looks like the spacer, war-hero background story too. I've calmed down a bit, and I'm thinking straight again. There has to be someone I can start with, someone who can get me out of this mess. My eye catches upon a striking advert on the site about Shepard, some C-Sec recruitment thing going on about the perks of the job and how to apply. The answer springs into my head almost immediately. Garrus Vakarian. Suits me fine. Garrus was always my favourite Mass Effect character, and he was always the friendly type provided you don't go around breaking the law…my mind runs back to the batarian lying unconscious in that alleyway. Better not mention that.

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I'm pretty much sprinting towards C-Sec now, plan rapidly formulating in my mind. I need to get a job at C-Sec first, obviously. Then I need to somehow meet up with Garrus, get friendly with the turian, and hopefully fight crime until Shepard turns up in two years to get us started on the great adventure. I think over the plan again. It's pretty pathetic, but it's the only hope I've got. Besides, like most ridiculous and convulted plans, it just might work. I'm pretty close to C-Sec now, just need to take an elevator to the lower floor and go straight on after that. BioWare certainly got the elevator speeds right in the game…it's embarrassingly slow for such an advanced culture. Still, gives me time for a breather after dashing half the length of the Citadel. I'm happy I can run this far and not be too much out of breath, all the athletics I did back in 2010 is really paying off now. I start thinking back to my old life, my parents and friends encouraging me through my races and training…no, I've got to focus on the present. Plenty of time to consider the past once I've got myself sorted out here. The elevator doors slide open, and it's only a short walk until I'm at C-Sec offices. The lobby's pretty busy, but there's no-one at the reception desk, just one solitary turian behind the main desk. I walk up to the turian, but he's engrossed in some magazine. I clear my throat, and he looks up, quickly folding away the magazine. From what I can see, it looks like an issue of Fornax. I resist the urge to laugh and instead desperately try to remain professional.

"What can I do for you, sir?" The turian asks politely. His name badge identifies him as 'Tonn'. Cool name.

"Hi," I say, "I'm looking into joining C-Sec, and I was wondering if you could tell me who to see about that?"

I realise how stupid that sounds, and Tonn gives me an odd look to back that feeling up, while typing away on his private terminal. "It's not that simple, sir. You can't just join like that…wait, are you the human who applied for the position in the investigation department?"

Shit, I have no idea what he's talking about. However, it sounds like this could be my way in.

"Yeah…" I reply cautiously. May as well just try and wing it. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone to get everything in order before I start work…just about now."

"Of course, Mr. ******. The Executor is ready to see you now. He's waiting in that office wing over there." Tonn gestures at a pretty generic corridor to my left. "Second door on the right."

I'm flabbergasted. How the hell did he know my name? How am I supposedly working at C-Sec when I only just arrived here? "How do you know my name?" I ask Tonn. May as well be straight up with the guy.

He gives me a look of mild surprise. "It's all here on your application form." He swivels around the terminal screen to let me see. There's a picture of me, my name, and apparently I applied for the job two weeks ago with a degree in law from Oxford University. What the hell does this mean? How did I apply for a job here when I didn't even exist in this universe until twelve hours ago? "Thanks…" I say faintly, starting to stumble away from Tonn's desk, my mind whirling with thoughts.

"Hey, no problem." Tonn calls out. "Let me know if you need anything else."

I nod absent-mindedly, and head over to the corridor Tonn indicated, thinking about what just happened. I need answers, and I have a nasty feeling I'm going to have a hard time finding them. Something suspicious is going on here, something that makes it look like I didn't end up in this Universe by mistake. I'm standing in front of the door to where Executor Pallin is waiting. I look back over my shoulder at the C-Sec lobby. If I go into this office, that's it. There's no going back. I'm going to set off a chain of events that can't be stopped, going to embrace a new life here that I may never be able to leave.

I look back at the door, and realise that I really have no other choice. I need to survive, need to find Garrus, and I need to find answers.

The door glides open, and I step through into my new life.

**A/N: Hope you've enjoyed these first two chapters…please R&R, I appreciate constructive criticism, and praise, if you're feeling generous. If you don't want to review, then please follow or favourite the story :D anything is appreciated greatly.**

**Next chapter(s): Ian's interview with Pallin, joining C-Sec, preparing for the first day on the force, and maybe meeting Garrus?**

**Until next time…**


	3. Meeting Pallin

Chapter 3

The light from the room is blinding when I walk in initially, so I have to blink a few times to get used to it. What is with the future and the need to make everything white? It's starting to get on my nerves.

"Ah, Mr ********", says the turian sitting behind a desk on the opposite side of the room. "Please, take a seat."

That's definitely Executor Pallin alright. I'd recognise those badass facial markings anywhere. Heh, turians have the only culture where face-painting is actual pretty damn cool in all age groups. I quickly oblige Pallin, and take a seat opposite him. He fixes me with a cold, hard stare, then switches his gaze down to what appears to be my file, and starts talking.

"So, Mr ********, I see that…"

"It's Ian," I blurt out. I can't help myself. Pallin gives me another stare, a look of slight annoyance starting to form in his eyes. Five seconds into my interview and I've already managed to piss off my potential boss for the next two years. Must be my natural charisma shining through.

"It's so…formal," I say, feeling pretty embarrassed, especially with Pallin's eyes boring into my skull. Turians have such predatory eyes and faces, and suddenly he looks pretty damn fearsome with his face markings. Ok, facepaint is definitely not cool anymore. "I just prefer people referring to me by my first name. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable."

Pallin keeps looking at me for a few more seconds, then shrugs.

"Whatever suits you, _Ian_", he says, putting a lot of emphasis on the last word there. Looks like he resents me interrupting him. God, my luck at getting along with turians is going terrible so far, and since my main objective is becoming friends with Garrus…well, it's a pretty bad start.

"So you were born on Earth, this is your first experience off the planet?"

"Yeah, it's been...eventful, so far."

"I see you qualified in galactic law from Oxford University. I'm told that's an excellent achievement, at least by human standards." Pallin scans through more of the information, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air. The bastard's probably read the file dozens of times now, but he's doing it again now, trying to intimidate me with the silence. If I recall, he was always pretty dismissive towards Shepard in the few in-game conversations I had with him. Yep, definitely feeling some prejudice towards humans here.

"Eighteen years old," he mutters. "Young, even for a human." He glances up at me, mandibles widening a little bit with what looks like the turian equivalent of a smirk. "Your first experience in a policing job?" I nod. "Interesting…", he sighs and leans back in his chair, a particularly arrogant air to his movements.

"You know, what I see here, _Ian,_" (great, he's probably going to be emphasising that for the rest of my C-Sec career…fantastic) "is some headstrong, young, inexperienced human, straight out of college or whatever you call it. This is your first time off Earth, your first ever policing job, yet you think you can just walk in here and be a C-Sec officer?" He's standing up now, pacing around the room, throwing me the odd accusatory glance. Shit, I feel like Ethan Mars in that one scene in _Heavy Rain _just before Blake starts beating the crap out of him in the interview room, and it doesn't look like Norman Jayden is going to rush in and punch Pallin out. Dammit!

"I shouldn't be surprised," Pallin continues, throwing a dismissive wave at me. It looks pretty similar to the kind of action the turian councillor would make. What makes turians in positions of power such pricks? "You humans are always striding forward, bursting into galactic business where you're not welcome. You just turn up in Council space and start demanding things the other species take hundreds of years to earn! A human embassy, the Alliance military earning rights to colonise into space!" He rounds on me, raises his hand…talon, whatever, and points it at me, mandibles opening wide. "If it wasn't for the Council's interference in the Relay 314 incident, humanity would be nothing but a speck of dust in the galaxy!"

Right, there's no way I'm standing for that! "You don't want me here? Don't fucking take me in!" I shout. Pallin takes a step back in shock. Looks like the arrogant twat isn't used to people standing up for themselves. "The First Contact war was twenty-four years ago! You can't judge an entire species on one event that happened so far into the past! Which, I should point out, the turians started in the first place!" Pallin bristles at that, but I continue anyway. "Working at C-Sec is my dream, sir. I'm ready for this job, whether you think so or not. But DON'T expect me to put up with your xenophobia. If you can't get past it, I'm walking out that door, and you can explain to your superiors why an officer walked out before he even started his first day on the job!"

Pallin just looks at me, mandibles parted and mouth hanging slightly open, in shock or anger, I can't tell. After what feels like forever, Pallin slowly walks across the room and back behind his desk. I'm getting the horrible feeling I've just burned my main bridge into C-Sec. May as well brace myself for my inevitable dismissal and start to seriously rethink my plans.

Pallin suddenly starts speaking, knocking me off my train of thought.

"Fine, _Ian," _(The contempt is even more noticeable now. Guess he's just stopped trying to hide it) "I'll put this little incident behind us, but only because the powers that be REQUIRE me to hire you into the investigation department." Wow, that's pretty cryptic. Wonder what he means by that. It's not the ideal way of getting employed, but at least I've got a job, and made it clear to Pallin that he's not going to intimidate me. Pallin glares at me. "Now get out of my sight. Report to the duty desk and the desk sergeant will take you from there."

Such as a helpful, understanding, and respectful superior officer. I can already tell we're going to have so much fun together. "The duty desk would be where?" I ask innocently. Pallin pretty much just admitted he has to hire me anyway, so may as well push my luck with him, just for shits and giggles. Right, I'm making a game of it now. How far can I push Pallin to his breaking point in each conversation we have?

Pallin is not amused. "Continue along the corridor to your left. I'm sure a great detective like you will be able to find it." Ooh, sarcasm. That's real mature. I head to walk out the door.

"Ian," he says. I swivel around to face him again. "I will be watching you. You're safe for now, but I soon as you make a mistake, as you inevitably will, I'll be there, ready to pounce and get you out of here faster than you can blink."

I flash Pallin a quick grin, just to show intimidation really isn't going to work. "Inspiring words, sir. I'll be sure to bear that in mind." And with that, I turn on my heel and walk out the room.

###################################

Well, that was nerve wracking to say the least. I lean against the wall next to the office door, rest my head back, and sigh deeply. Sure, Pallin was never in my good books during and after playing the game, but I was definitely unprepared for how much of a bastard the guy really is. I'm still trying to get over the fact he pulled a racist attack on me, during a job interview! I'm pretty sure that's illegal, maybe I should try pressing charges or something…oh, wait, he runs the police force, which could make prosecution problematic. Damn, that's that idea scrapped. Besides, I'll deal with my problems by myself. Suing people for crap like that back in Britain would get me laughed all the way out of court…and I imagine the same thing would happen here. Besides, suing Pallin won't let me engage in the little game I've got planned…winding him up could lead to all sorts of fun, especially if I can get Garrus in on the act. Hmm, little game…game…  
I just lost the game…FUCK! Damn train of thought screwing me over!

Taking a look along the corridor Pallin pointed me to, I can see a bored looking human sitting at a desk about fifty odd metres away. Hmm, that'll probably be the desk sergeant. I head over to him, still thinking about my predicament. Pallin was right when he said I was rushing in to this, I really have no experience of any police work, bar watching TV crime dramas…which probably aren't the best source material on the whole affair. And whilst I've fired a few guns in my time, I've never used anything really lethal like the pistol strapped to my thigh. Still, improvisation has served me well so far, so all I can really do is hope my luck holds out. I walk up to the desk sergeant, and he looks up at me as I approach. Jesus, the guy looks miserable. Not like slightly frowning sad, more 'having your girlfriend stolen by a krogan' sad. Hmm, wonder how that would feel. Hopefully I'll never find out.

"What?" says the desk sergeant. Oh good, he's friendly too. Irritableness seems to be a recurring theme around here. "Visitors need to report to the main desk up front, this is for C-Sec employees only."

I smirk at that. "Yeah, I know."

The sergeant sits there for a moment, then breaks out in to a huge grin. "Ah, you must be the new guy everyone's been talking about!" He stands up and stretches his hand out for me to shake. Well, that's certainly a surprise, in a pleasant sort of way.

"Hey there…" I reply, returning the gesture.

"Oh, the name's Morgan," he says, smile still firm upon his face. "Morgan Patterson."

"Hi Morgan, I'm…"

"You don't have to say! Everyone around here has a good idea of who you are, Ian!"

Wow, looks like my application has really stirred up the office. Impressive, considering I only found I'd submitted it about, ooh, half an hour ago?

"Why would that be?" I ask Morgan, genuinelly confused. Something tells me that there's not usually this much fuss when someone gets employed.

"You don't know?" I shake my head. This is pretty intriguing "Wow, I don't know how to break this to you…"

"Just tell me, Morgan."

"Well...erm…you're the first human investigator in C-Sec. I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or tell you to run like hell."

Wait, the FIRST human investigator? I knew humans were thin on the ground here, but I didn't realise it was that big a deal! Hell, I saw quite a few humans in C-Sec uniform while I was in the lobby!

"That can't be right! I've seen more than a few humans around here!"

"There's plenty of of us around here, sure, doing the desk jobs and regular police work. But the investigators are like Pallin's personal officers. It's always been a turian only job. The only species Pallin really trusts. But recently the Council started making demands for some diversity around the place. They figured that keeping the place to one species was limiting efficiency, and people around the Citadel were feeling a bit alienated having to deal with turian investigators all the time. Whatever their reasons, it certainly pissed Pallin off, as you can imagine."

Well, that explains a hell of a lot. No wonder Pallin was such a dick, and no wonder he seems to resent the Council a bit!

"Yeah, he hardly threw the biggest welcome party when I talked to him."

"No shit," Morgan laughs. "You should have heard him when he got told the news. Tearing up the offices, threatening to resign, taking his anger out on the human staff, even some of the turians got a taste of his bad side. He's the epitome of calm now compared to back then."

So Pallin resents me for intruding on his space as well. Not surprising for a member of a species that prides itself on its might and territory.

"What's the talk in the department about me then? How are the turians in investigation taking it?"

Morgan smiles. "Quite well, you'll be pleased to hear. There's always going to be the odd one or two who think it's some kind of political shitstorm..." I snort with laughter at that. Morgan gives me an odd look, but continues regardless. "The rest of them seem to be welcoming the diversity. Pallin's not much liked around here anyway. His loyalists are the only other ones outraged about the change anyway. All the humans around C-Sec have been buzzing about your move in. Could be the first sign of big changes around here for us!"

Wow, no pressure then. Looks like I'm going to have deal with office politics and the expectations of the human workforce now, as well as the Citadel's criminal underworld…never a dull moment. I just hope it doesn't go like Anderson's attempt at joining the Spectres and end in epic failure. But enough with the small talk. Time for me to actually try and start working.

"So Palin told me I was supposed to come and see you, and you'd sort me out with work details or something?"

Morgan looks surprised at the quick change in subject. "What? Oh, yeah! I've got all that for you. Your working hours are Monday to Saturday, nine o'clock til' six o'clock, but on Tuesdays and Fridays you're on call with your partner until eleven o'clock in the morning. You got all that?"

I nod my head, then suddenly realise what Morgan said. "Wait, my partner?"

"Yeah," Morgan nods, "you're not just sent out there by yourself! Everyone has a partner. He'll take you through training, show you the ropes. It's a nice system. Keeps everyone a hell of a lot safer on the job with someone watching your back, and makes it the investigations go much faster and accurately with two people working away on paperwork and actual investigating."

Wow, Resident Evil 5 similiarities much? But hopefully with less zombies, retarded partners, and people shouting 'Come on!' at me.

"So, who's my partner?"

"Let me see, it's on this list somewhere…hang on. Oh, here we are."

He looks up at me, and says the three words I really, really needed to hear.

"Vakarian. Garrus Vakarian."

Morgan, you do not know how much I love you right now.


	4. Garrus Vakarian

Chapter 4

I can't help a broad grin stretching out across my face. Garrus Vakarian is my partner. Jesus, I was not expecting THAT! Out of all the turians in C-Sec, I get Garrus. I'll be honest, there's no-one I want more watching my back. If he handles things anywhere near like how he does in the games, there is definitely going to be some fun times abound. Working with a badass turian who doesn't follow the rules and is possibly my only hope of survival in this insane universe? I'd say that definitely beats every other alternative. If memory serves, Pallin doesn't appear to be Garrus's greatest fan in Mass Effect 1, and Garrus seems to resent the way Pallin runs things at C-Sec. Perfect, we already have so much in common!

Morgan's clocked my happy reaction. "What, you know the guy?"

Shit, I just remembered I'm not supposed to know who Garrus is. Mental note: don't be so careless about hiding my knowledge of the Mass Effect universe. Morgan is looking expectantly at me, waiting for an answer. Quick, think of something semi-plausible!

"Erm…I've think heard the name Vakarian before. His father's some kind of C-Sec legend, right?"

Morgan nods. Damn, that was way too close. I really need to be a hell of a lot more careful about maintaining my cover.

"Got that right. Old man Vakarian was the best of the best. Retired now though, Garrus is supposed to be continuing the family legacy or something." Yeah, that sounds like exactly the kind of thing Garrus's father would want. Too bad for him that that's not the way Garrus is going. "The boy's got a lot to live up to," Morgan continues.

"That he does," I say back, somewhat absent-mindedly. This is all still quite a lot to take in. I'm actually going to be working with one of my favourite fictional heroes, kicking ass and taking names. I'd be ecstatic, if it weren't for the Prothean visions running around my head, and the feeling I'm being carried along by events completely out of my control. Eh, may as well just roll with the punches.

Roll with the punches? What? Why did I think that? Such a stupid line.

Morgan's still been chatting along while I've been engaged in my thoughts. God, I hope I haven't missed anything important.

"…so anyway, I'll just send him a message and have him come down to see you."

I assume he's talking about Garrus. Awesome, looks like I'm finally going to get to meet him! Crap, what am I going to say? What if he hates me instantly? What if…

"No need, Morgan," a familiar voice says behind me. "Only the arrival of one person could have set Pallin off like that."

I swivel around, and there he is, Garrus Vakarian, standing there mandibles parted slightly in the turian equivalent of a smile. Wow, he looks a lot younger than I remember…then again, the last time I 'saw' him was in Mass Effect 2 after he'd been shot in the face with a missile, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise he's looking a bit perkier than I remember. But it's definitely him. Same flanging voice I recognise, same blue face markings, same eye-piece, same proud look he has throughout the games.

"Ian ******," he says, stepping forward with his talon outstretched for me to shake. "It's nice to finally meet the man behind all the stories."

I smile, and shake his hand. Here goes nothing. Just the start of my new life. No pressure.

"All good stories, I assume?"

Garrus gives a little chuckle. "Yeah, Pallin's been nothing but full of praise for you. Been going on about how _refreshing _it is to have some diversity around here. I guess he threw quite the welcome party?"

"Oh, yeah, fantastic. Shame about the cake he baked me, dextro-amino based. It looked delicious, too."

Garrus laughs properly at that, flanging voice reverberating around the lobby. This is going great! First person in this galaxy who appears to properly appreciate sarcasm!

"Yeah, that sounds like the Pallin we all know and love around here." He shrugs. "It wouldn't surprise me if he did bake you a dextro-amino cake. Give him a good chance to get rid of you quickly."

Now it's my turn to laugh. Good to see Garrus has got his sense of humour from the games as well.

"Come on," Garrus beckons me to walk with him, serious face back on. "I've got to get you sorted out in the office, then running you through some basic training before you start tomorrow. We'd better get started if you want to finish on time."

I nod, and hurry over. I can't believe it, but I'm actually looking forward to this. All the worries I had have pretty much evaporated now I've actually met Garrus. I look back at Morgan again. "Thanks for the help, mate. See you later!" Morgan gives me a wave, then turns back to his private terminal, small smile on his face. Hey, that's nice! I've managed to cheer up the receptionist! That's some more Paragon points to my imaginary total, and I feel pretty good about myself. Being the nice guy is always good for self-esteem. Garrus leads the way, and I follow him with a spring in my step. Screw Pallin, I love my job.

###########################################

Garrus and I stroll into C-Sec offices, both going through alternate double doors at the same time. Ah, that feels badass. Like the opening bit of Life on Mars where Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt both go through the door at the same time. Pretty sweet. Of course, that's where the similarities to the 1970's based cop show end. Instead of the typical low lit, messy CID you come to expect from British police dramas, this place is neat, organised and efficient. There's a shock with turians running the place. They've got a culture of good work-ethic, something they've clearly carried over to here. Shame, the whole feels so…soulless. There's desks lined up around the place, each with a private terminal and name plate at the front of them. I count twelve desks in all, four are occupied with turians pouring over data-pads and typing away on their terminals. One turian is standing by what looks like some futuristic coffee pot, and gives Garrus and I a friendly nod of the head as we walk in. Ah, the obligatory coffee pot. Shit, I can't drink turian coffee, can I…better go and see if Morgan has some levo-amino brew lying around anywhere at some point.

"We're over here," says Garrus, pointing to two desks. One is pretty clean and empty, obviously mine. The other is piled high with data-pads. That'll be Garrus's then.

"Nice collection," I say, inclining my head towards the vast mountain on his desk. "Either you're very thorough in your work, or you just really don't care for red tape." Of course, I already know the answer to this, but it'll be interesting hearing it straight from Garrus.

"Yeah…" he says, looking a bit nervous. "I just…I don't really see the point in doing all the reports. Not when I should be out there," he points to the large window on one side of the office, showing the Citadel in all it glory. "Doing my job."

I'm not surprised by that answer. Typical Garrus. Still, I always tried to teach him that the ends don't always justify the means when I played Mass Effect, and I feel some kind of obligation to do so here. Maybe I'm being a prick, but I feel like I should say something.

"No offence Garrus, but this is your job. Besides, you don't want some criminal getting away with his crime just because you didn't fill out the right form?"

Garrus sighs, and gives a little nod of reluctant agreement. Alright, looks like I'm getting through to him! "I never really though about it like that…I guess you've got a point." He looks up at me, and smiles again. "Wise words for someone so young. I'll bear that in mind. I still don't like the whole bureaucratic crap we have to put up with around here, though. " Hey, that's fair enough. I'm not exactly the greatest fan of all the hoops the police have to jump through either, but it is unfortunately necessary. Garrus blinks, and suddenly he's all business again.

"Right, we'd better head down to the armoury, get you kitted out." The armoury? Nice, looks like I'm about to get my first taste of weapon training. God, I hope I don't make an arse of myself. That could be pretty embarrassing in front of the pro-sniper that is Garrus Vakarian.

#################################

Ok, I'm making an arse of myself. Damn it, why can't I hit the target! It's only thirty metres down the range, but my shots are flying wide every time. Garrus is looking at me with me with some amusement. Arsehole.

"You do realise you're supposed to be hitting the target, right? Twenty warning shots is a few more than protocol dictates." Ooh, that's hilarious, Garrus. Seriously, my sides are splitting right now. Somebody call a fucking ambulance. I lower the gun, cross my arms in indignation and turn to look at the smirking turian. Garrus took my old gun when we got here, muttering something about the amount of crap weapons on the market these days, and fitted me out with a newer, more powerful model.

"It's only a problem if you've got a solution, Vakarian. And I don't see you stepping in to help."

Garrus steps forward onto the range, pulls his gun from its holster, and fires three shots straight the centre of the target. Ok, that's impressive. He turns and looks at me, slight smug glint in his eye.

"See what I did there?" he asks.

"Yeah," I reply, the sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Made me look completely useless. Thanks for that."

Garrus chuckles. "Actually, I was talking about my shooting technique…but good to see you noticed my other intention. Good detective work." Cheeky bastard!

"Right, aim your gun down range." I do so. This is starting to remind me of the Call of Duty 4 opening mission. Are there any watermelons lying around? "Put your left foot back a little bit, relax, hold you breath, look down your sight, and fire. You got all that?"

I nod, partly for his sake, and partly to reassure myself I can do this. I put my foot back, steady my breathing, and look down the sight. Line up the bullseye in the sight and…BANG! The shot flies straight through the middle of the target, exactly where I was aiming. Shit, I can't believe that actually worked! Garrus nods approvingly.

"Not bad, Ian. Nice shot. Now to work on consistency." Garrus resets the target, and stands back to the side.

"Let's try it again."

I grin with newfound confidence, line up my sight, and start firing.

#####################################

So, weapons training took a little longer than I was expecting, but on the bright side I can say I'm a pretty good shot. I mean, nine out of ten times I'm hitting the target now. Hell, even Garrus was pretty impressed, commenting that I'm a 'quick learner'. High praise indeed, coming from him. He's also taught me to use an omni-tool as well, but that was a lot easier than shooting a gun, thank Christ. So far I can only do basic things on it like check the time, which will be incredibly useful in a firefight or high speed pursuit, but Garrus assures me he'll teach me more skills with it out in the field. Now we're both standing back in the lobby of C-Sec again.

"That's everything you need to know right now," Garrus tells me. "You've done some good work today, Ian. It takes most people a lot longer than that to get the proficient with a weapon and omni-tool. Nice to know you've got the skills to back up the reputation you've got around here."

Oh God, more about my 'reputation'? I've only been here for a day! How can people form opinions of me in that space of time? Still, it's great to hear that kind of praise from Garrus of all people. I really think we could get along here.

"Hey, thanks for teaching me," I say back.

"No problem. We're partners, remember?" Garrus slaps me on the back, and starts to walk off. "I'll see you in the office tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." I shout after him. I genuinely am as well. The adventures we're going to have…not that Garrus knows about any of them yet. That reminds me about Dr. Saleon. Shit, wonder how that's gonna pan out.

I walk out of C-Sec and out into the open of the Citadel, looking at the city stretching out before me. It's weird, but I feel like I have some kind of purpose now. Garrus Vakarian and I, fighting crime for the next two years of our lives, partners.

Let the good times roll.

Then I realise I don't actually have anywhere to live.

Ah, fuck.

**A/N: This chapter felt a little bit weird to write...I don't know why :S  
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, subscribed or favourited. You've made my day :D  
Next one or two chapters will be settling in, then it's on to our first major investigation! Stay tuned!**

**(In other news, my update rate might slow down a bit due to school work starting to catch up on me...but there will be one chapter every three days at least. Promise.)**


	5. Retrospection, Investigation

Chapter 5

It's all back. The machine, the screaming, the destruction. Flashes of the machine again, its roar growing louder by every passing second. Images of the insect like Collectors flash in and out of focus, then the human figure standing as a huge explosion from…something…lights up the world around them. The DNA strands, rotating around and around…and finally, that final synthetic screech of triumph as another human falls to the ground, the galaxy exploding around them in a scream of something more than the greatest pain imaginable…

I dart upright in my bed, sweating from every pore in my body and clutching at my aching head. Shit, it's just a dream…it's just a dream. Slumping back down on the bed, ears still ringing, I glance at my omni-tool. It's four AM, and this is the second time the visions have woken me up. Fair play to Shepard, in the game he or she seems to take the vision with the bare minimum of fuss…I, on the other hand, feel like my head's going to explode with the pain, or the sheer amount of information running through it. Or both. Seriously kids, prophetic visions are bad, m'kay? I could always try going back to sleep…nah, work starts at nine, and with a headache this bad already I don't want to risk the visions coming back again and my brain completely overloading. I head through into the bathroom, and splash water over my face a few times. Ah, that feels a hell of a lot better…though I could really do with some aspirin right now. Or ice cream, that tends to dull pain quite well too. Do they have ice cream on the Citadel? No-one ever mentions it in the game. Hmm, that's another thing for me to find out. I'll put it just after discovering why I've got visions of the end of the galaxy running around my head.

I stagger over to the desk of my hotel room, and rest my head in my hands. Oh yeah, I'm living in a hotel now. Some middle of the road place near C-Sec offices. It's pretty cheap, at least enough for me to afford of C-Sec wages and the ten thousand credits I got from selling some of my stuff, until I can find somewhere more permanent. That's another thing for me to do. Jesus, why did it have to be me sent here? What did I do to you, Dan, to make you send me the message that got me in this screwed-up galaxy anyway? Admittedly my old life wasn't the most exciting, but at least I was happy there, without weird asari mind-raping me and high ranking police officials out for my blood. Damn it, no point dwelling on what could have been. I need to sort everything out in the here and now first.

Let me think…so first problem is the Prothean visions. From what I remember, Shepard gets visions of the machine, which is obviously some unknown Reaper. He also sees the collectors, the people falling in pain…but Shepard only saw Protheans in his visions! How come I'm seeing humans in mine? And those DNA strands too. I'm sure as hell Shepard never saw them. Christ, it's all so damn confusing! Why couldn't the Protheans have made their visions so much less cryptic? Some kind of nice video with audio commentary, maybe some subtitles for the harder to understand bits. Not making it feel like I'm being beaten around the head with cricket bats while Justin Bieber screams in my ear. There's one other thing really bothering me as well. How the hell can I understand a Prothean vision without some kind of Cipher like the one Shepard got? Unless that asari gave one to me at the start of this twisted ride…yeah, that could be it…but I can't know for certain.

It's not like I can tell Garrus about any of it yet, he'll just think I'm insane, although that's fair enough. Besides, I've only known him for a day, and finding out your new partner is from a parallel universe and knows about your future could, understandably, lead to some serious trust issues. Better not mention it just yet.

Ah, Garrus Vakarian. The one person in this galaxy I'm relying on. He seems pretty cool though, as I expected. We're getting along much better than I hoped, as well. Hell, Garrus is the only real friend I've made in this galaxy. The nicest turian I've met too. Then again, the competition for that place isn't exactly tight, considering his main rival for the position is Pallin. And he took to me worse than the krogan took the genophage. Still, knowing I've got Garrus watching my back now is…reassuring, to say the least. Feels like I've got some hope of surviving this madness.

I rest my head back down on the desk. It's all so tiring…the pressure, the visions locked in my brain keeping me in a constant state of fear, panic and anxiety…I wish it didn't have to be me here, living this life…I'm not a freakin' hero…

With my thoughts filled with worries and trepidation, I slowly drift off into sleep again.

#######################################

I'm woken by my omni-tool flaring up, beeping incessantly in my ear. Blearily opening one eye, I glance at the holographic display. Its only six AM. But my alarm is set for half past seven…wait, there's a little symbol of an envelope flashing in the top left of my screen. I access my mail, and examine it a bit closer.

'_1 new message from: Garrus Vakarian'_

Garrus? What the hell's he doing sending me messages at this kind of hour? Do turians know what sleep is? I'm fully awake now, and rather curious about what's so important to be worth waking me up at this ungodly hour.

'_Something important has just come up. Get to C-Sec as soon as possible. You've just got your first case. Garrus.'_

I'm dressed, ready and out the door in two minutes.

###########################################

The investigations office is full of turians when I walk in twenty minutes later. Pallin is in too, and briefing the assembled detectives as I walk in. Garrus is sitting in the corner of the room nearest the door, and I see he's left a seat free for me. He smiles a bit as I walk in, and beckons me over to the chair. Pallin, surprisingly, is a lot less happy to see me.

"Ah, _Ian,_" he says, the scorn flooding from his mouth, "so glad you could finally join us! We were just waiting for you to show up." One or two turians on the opposite side of the room snigger at his snide remarks. Pallin's cronies, of course. Wow, he actually employs people to laugh at his jokes. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so sickeningly pathetic.

"I only got the message to be here twenty minutes ago, _sir._"

Palin smirks. "Nonsense. I sent the orders to everyone in the deparment more than three-quarters of an hour ago. Explain yourself!"

Shit, the bastard deliberately didn't send me the message so I'd turn up for work at the wrong time and make an arse out of myself. He was probably expecting me to turn up at nine o'clock, normal time. Damn it!

"No need." Garrus stands up, and points to my omni-tool. "I realised I'd forgotten to calibrate it to receive messages from unknown addresses last night when I went home. Ian only got the message so late because I only remembered to send it to him twenty minutes ago."

Pallin looks furious. Hah, Garrus just ruined his chance to get back at me for yesterday's interview.

"That's careless of you Vakarian. Very careless."

Garrus shrugs. "Sorry sir. It won't happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't. Ian, Vakarian, take a seat."

Pallin walks back over to the holographic screen he was using, and starts to talk again. "Now, for the benefit of our newest _human_ recruit (does he really need to say the word 'human' like he's eaten a particularly vile piece of food?) let's recap why you're all here. We received a call one hour ago from an address near the Lower Wards, reports of a murder. Of course, most of us are used to that kind of thing around here." He shoots me another glare. Jesus Christ, Pallin, give it a fucking rest! You don't have to remind me that you hate me every ten seconds! I roll my eyes back at him in response.

"What makes this case so special?" Some turian at the back of the room says.

"Normally in murders, Cardon, we find a body. The usual injuries like gunshot or stab wounds. The guy we just found, however, has been hacked up, and all his organs taken. Which is a little different from the average murder, wouldn't you agree?"

Wow, that's...messed up. Garrus talks now. "Do you think it could be the black-market organ trade, again?"

Pallin shrugs. "It's possible. We've got no evidence yet, but that's certainly the main theory we've got so far. Vakarian, you're our man on black-market trade. I want you, and your, _partner, _to head over to the crime scene. The rest of you, stick with your normal assignments, but keep an eye out for any more cases like this. The last thing we need is some psycho killer on the loose throughout the station. I want results people, and I want them quick!" Wow, that's great leadership Pallin. Make unreasonable demands of the workforce, then sit in your office and do literally nothing to help. What the hell does he do all day? Do computers here still have Solitare?

"Oh," Pallin says, heading out the door, "and someone make sure that bitch from Westerlund News doesn't come sniffing around. The last thing we need is a station wide panic about this!" Hold on, Khalissa bint Al-Jilani? She's around? Shit, my punching hand is flexing instinctively. The one Renegade interrupt that actually feels like you're doing everyone a favour instead of being a dick. Garrus taps me on the shoulder, popping my little thought bubble.

"You heard the man, Ian. Get your stuff together and meet me in the lobby in five." Garrus storms off somewhere, presumably to get his equipment. Something about this case feels strangely familiar…my mind flashes back to a conversation with Garrus in the Normandy cargo hold…

_Garrus is talking with Shepard about his time at C-Sec_.

"_I was tasked with tracking black-market trade on the Citadel," he says. "Most of it harmless, nothing I needed to pursue. But during the course of my investigation, I noticed an increase in the trade of body parts. Organs, mostly. We usually get a few of those, but not the numbers I was seeing. We weren't sure if there was a new black market lab, or if some freak was harvesting organs from citizens. _

_Shepard gives him an odd look of confusion. "You've seen this before on the Citadel?_

_Garrus nods. "Every so often, some lab sells unwanted parts through the black market. But they're not as bad as the psychos. I remember this one elcor diplomat we caught on the job. He was hacking people up and selling their organs. Had the station in a bit of a panic."_

Oh shit. Definitely not good.

#######################################

So now I'm heading towards the lobby to meet Garrus, running through what I can remember about the case. An elcor diplomat goes crazy and starts selling organs to the black market for a profit. Proper grade A psychopath, which sort of comes with the territory of him being a serial killer. Logic would dictate he shouldn't be too hard to find, but then again Scott Shelby managed to convince pretty much everyone who played _Heavy Rain _he wasn't a killer, which was probably why pretty much everyone got so pissed off after they found out, including me. Still, at least Shelby wasn't going around cutting people up and stealing their organs. Oh man, I'm not looking forward to getting to this crime scene. My first ever dead body…it's giving me goosebumps. Better bring some kind of sick bag, just in case. The main thing bugging me about this case is, how the fuck does an elcor manage to kill someone, then get away from the crime scene. They move at about the speed of a milk float, have seemingly no combat skills at all, and are possibly the most conspicuous species, ever. Yet I know that, in a few days time, he's going to have started a killing spree and caused a station wide panic, panic most likely orchestrated by Al-Jilani. I wonder if I can 'accidentally' get her killed tragically in some kind of crossfire…no, that's not going to happen, I really can't afford to end up in prison while Garrus jets off to fight Saren and the Reapers. It's not really murder, more of a public service…but I doubt the jury would see it that way.

"Ready to go?"

I jump in surprise, and swivel around. It's Garrus, naturally, chewing on some burrito looking thing. Good for him, I'm fucking starving. Starting the day without breakfast is seriously not cool. Garrus is looking pretty amused at my reaction to him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Garrus!"

"Or what? You'll shoot me?"

Don't push your luck.

"Probably, if I can ever get my gun out of the holster fast enough. Seriously, Garrus, first thing you have to know about me is my paranoia. Someone sneaks up on me, I freak out a little bit. Playing too much survival horror does that to you."

Garrus raises a scaly eyebrow. "Survival horror?"

"What, you don't play video games?" Garrus shakes his head. Well, we'll have to rectify that little problem after all this serial killing madness is over. "Never mind, then." I make a pointed look at his burrito. "Where'd you find that?"

"What, this?" Garrus brandishes the burrito in my face. Christ, that smells delicious. Like a mixture of curry, flowers and rainbows. Mmmm. "Pallin ordered in breakfast for all the investigators. Most of the office can barely work if they haven't eaten."

Bastard! "You could have told me, _partner_. Humans need food too, you know."

"Feel free to get some," Garrus smirks. "It's just that Pallin 'forgot' (he does the air quotation marks) to order in any levo-amino food. But dig in if you want to spend the next week feeling like your stomach is trying to climb out of your mouth."

Oh, right. "Fair enough, then. Any idea where a human can get anything decent to eat around here?"

Garrus laughs. "Yeah, I know a few places. But, with what you're going to see in about twenty minutes when we get to the crime scene, you're probably going to be grateful for skipping food this morning."

Now I raise an eyebrow. "Come on, Garrus. How bad can it be?"

Garrus grimaces. "I've been working here for two years, and…" He shudders a bit. "From what I've heard, it's bad."

If that doesn't sound omnious, I don't know what is. Where do they keep the sick bags around here?


	6. Leads

Chapter 6

"What was Pallin saying about you being the man on black-market trade?"

We're speeding away from C-Sec towards Tayseri Ward, Garrus behind the wheel of the car, and the question suddenly pops into my mind. The journey's going to take a little while anyway, and I'm genuinely curious to know as much about Garrus as I can. Besides, some conversation should make the journey pass quicker than sitting in an awkward silence. Seriously, all we need to make this any more awkward is some lift music

"It's my job in C-Sec. Every person or partner team have one area of investigation they specialise in. For me, and you, it's the black market. Red sand, weapons, if it's illegal and being traded, it's our job to stop it."

"Wait, we have to deal with everything? Every little piece of illegal contraband falls under our jurisdiction?" Man, this is going to be a busy job!

Garrus chuckles. "Not exactly." I sigh with relief. "A lot of black market trading is pretty much harmless, the odd weapon being passed around, pets being brought illegally onto the station, but nothing the normal officers can't handle. We deal with the major cases, organised crime. Full scale gun-running, red sand smuggling, that's our job."

"But this is murder, right? Shouldn't we have the specialists on that heading down here instead?"

"It's not that simple." Garrus is frowning now. "I've noticed a rise in the illegal trade of organs recently. It's probably just down to some new lab mass producing them…"

Whoa, slow down a bit there, Garrus. "Wait, people are allowed to mass produce organs?"

"It's a bit of a grey area. Labs are allowed to make them for official medical purposes, to sell to hospitals and the like. The problem we have is these places selling off organs to the black market for a much larger profit. And there's been a real increase recently. It might be the labs, but this particular killing sounds suspiciously like it was done for the organ money. I mean, most serial killers have a signature, but removing all the organs?" He shakes his head. "I just don't think it's a coincidence, and apparently neither does Pallin. Which is why we're here, instead of the murder team."

Don't think it's a coincidence? You couldn't be more right, Garrus. If I told you how big this organ trading stuff will be by the time we've spent two years investigating, you wouldn't believe me. God, that reminds of the whole Dr. Saeleon affair…the hostage situation is going to be traumatic, as is having to deal with a crazy salarian scientist…and I'm not talking about Mordin Solus.

"What do you think, Ian? You must have some opinion on this."

What? No, Garrus, I ask the questions! Now I have to think of an answer without accidentally compromising myself. Thanks buddy!

"Your idea about the black market sounds about right," I reply slowly. Careful now, Ian, don't say anything stupid. "I mean, killers have signatures like you said, but they're usually things like a certain method of killing, or a calling card left at the scene. Removing the organs is way too messy, and way too dangerous for someone to do it just for kicks. This looks like it was done for business."

"Nice to hear we're thinking the same thing." Garrus grimaces. "It's insane what people are prepared to do for money in this place." I nod absent-mindedly, and stare out of the cruiser's window at the station speeding past beneath us. The game never really mentioned the criminal side of the Citadel. Sure, there was Fist, but he's not exactly a criminal mastermind. I mean, he turned traitor to the Shadow Broker, for God's sake! Not exactly the best career move, especially when it means Urdnot Wrex ends up trying to kill you. Garrus taps me on the shoulder.

"Make sure you've got everything you need. We should be there in a few minutes."

My first corpse…I'm already feeling queasy about it. Hopefully Garrus will understand if I'm a little bit freaked out by it all…

########################################

"Pull yourself together, Ian!" Garrus says, clicking his mandibles irritably.

I've just, for lack of a better phrase, chucked my guts up into the bag I brought with me. Garrus was right when he said I'd be glad I skipped breakfast…it's properly disgusting. The team of officers already at the scene have tried to put the body back together as best as they can…but it's just a mess of limbs and skin. One of the turian officers has also managed to get the victim's leg mixed up with an arm, although the whole thing is so horribly mutilated I can see how he's made the mistake. The smell is disgusting too, a mixture of congealing blood and bodily fluids. They definitely failed to mention all this stuff in _Midsomer Murders_.

"Garrus, this is my first time seeing a corpse, and it's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. So please, cut me some slack?"

That doesn't seem to do much to change Garrus's mood. Christ, Joker was right about the whole 'pole up his ass' thing sometimes.

"If we don't start investigating this thing soon, there's going to be more and more corpses like this, Ian! And we can't investigate if you're going to be sick every time you see anything dead!"

Wiping my mouth, I turn around to face Garrus. I've still got the acidic taste in my throat after being sick…this definitely isn't the first day on the job I'd dreamed of.

"How can you say that? Does this not bother you or anything? That person had their whole life ahead of them, and now he's dead because some el…" Oh shit, I almost said the e word! Dammit, dammit, dammit, I have to be more careful! "Because some bastard," I start again, and thankfully Garrus doesn't seem to have noticed my slip-up, "killed him because they thought his organs were worth more than his life! And you just stand there as if it's nothing special!"

Garrus face softens a bit and he looks down at the floor, a bit sheepishly.

"Of course it bothers me," he says, sighing, "of course I feel horrible, but I have to deal with it." He looks up at me again. "When we chose this job, we chose to fight for something greater than ourselves: justice. We might want to run away from it all, the things we have to see, the danger we put ourselves in every day, but if we don't fight for it, no-one else will. It's what I tell myself every time I see something like this; it's what keeps me going where others would give up."

Wow, that was…pretty impressive, Garrus. I'd never really though of it like that. Reminds me of an old Earth saying…

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Garrus gives me a look of confusion. "A man named Edmund Burke said that. He was a philosopher in our 18th century. You're right, Garrus." I smile a little bit. "Thanks."

"Hey, no problem. What is it that makes humans so squeamish, anyway?"

"What is it that makes turians such pricks?"

Garrus shakes his head. "Nice comeback. That's really mature." He points over to the crime scene. "Come on, as much fun as this is, we should probably start doing our jobs."

###############################################

We both head over to the human officer standing by the corpse, ordering the other officers around. Obviously the man in charge.

"Sergeant?" Garrus says, walking up behind the human. The guy swivels around with a wearied look to his eyes. He seems to be taking this almost as bad as me, which is not good.

"Detective Vakarian and Detective ******?" We both nod. I feel like telling him to just call me Ian…but to be honest that didn't pan out too well with the last person I said it to. "Investigation sent a message ahead to tell us you were coming," he explains. "I've never seen anything like this before…it's just sick. When we got here, it was carnage. No traces of the killer, just this guy's limbs scattered everywhere and a whole lot of missing organs."

Suppose I'd better actually start asking questions and doing some actual investigation rather than just standing here like someone completely lost. Which I suppose, considering the whole dimension jump, I sort of am. But that's just being pedantic.

I point to the corpse. "What can you tell us about the victim?"

The sergeant shakes his head. "Not much. DNA scans match a certain Anthony Levi. He was a musician at a small club near the Presidium. Played in some classical music band, I don't really know the details on that, but he had no criminal record or known criminal dealings. No reason to suspect he was targeted. The attack looks random, if you ask me. Some guy walking home from work, gets jumped by some psycho and has his organs taken. Who the hell steals organs, anyway?"

Garrus steps in now. "Someone who's going to sell them on to the highest bidder. We think Anthony was killed for the money his organs would fetch."

The sergeant's jaw practically drops to the floor. If the situation wasn't so serious I'd probably laugh at the amazing facial contortion he's performing.

"That's…what…" the sergeant is speechless. Better put him out of his misery.

"Yeah, you heard him right." I say. "There's a big black market trade on organs, and our theory is the killer is out for a profit rather than just a bloodbath. It's our job to stop it."

"Is there anything Anthony was carrying?" Garrus asks. "Anything suspicious?"

The sergeant shakes his head slowly. Poor guy's still trying to get over everything he's seen and heard in the past few minutes. Well, I can definitely empathise with that. "Nothing suspicious. A few credits, pass-key to his apartment block. He had his instrument case too, but that didn't have anything else in it asides from his viola. The case is a bit dented, but that's probably due to age rather than anything else."

Garrus gives me a look and makes a twirling motion with one of his talons, the universal symbol for 'wrap it up'. Looks like we've got everything we're going to get out of the sergeant.

"Well, we won't take any more of your time. Thanks for your help." I give him a friendly smile, and he gives me a weak one back. Shit, this guy is really taking it hard…I glance over at Garrus, who's walking over to the corpse already. "Look," I say to the sergeant. "Detective Vakarian and I have got it from here. Go home and get some rest."

"Really, I'm fine…" he protests weakly. I'm not having it.

"You're sweating profusely, shaking, you look miserable, and can barely string together a sentence. So please, don't tell me you're fine. As your superior officer, I'm ordering you, go home and let us deal with this."

He smiles, genuinely now. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!" He hurries off, presumably off home, or to the nearest psychiatrist. Ah, I love being nice. It feels so good.

I walk over to where Garrus is standing, investigating the body, and he gives me a look. "I saw what you did there, Ian."

Oh, great, I feel a lecture coming on. "Oh, come on, Garrus! He was an emotional wreck! How can you expect me to…"

Garrus laughs, and holds up his talon to stop me mid-sentence. "Relax, Ian, you don't have to be so defensive. I completely approve, just wanted to see how you'd deal with it." He nods. "I'm impressed."

Oh, a test? Really, Garrus? I'm going to have to look out for him pulling crap like that in the future now. My paranoid instinct is kicking in again. Damn you, Capcom!

"Right, let's get down to business," he says, opening up his omni-tool. I do the same.

"Open up your applications, and go to the one with the picture of the magnifying glass." I scan along the list. There's the envelope symbol for my mail, musical note for my non-existent musical library (that reminds me to download some music the earliest chance I get), a picture of the galaxy for the extranet…Ah, there's the magnifying glass, for something called DNActive. Hmm, I wonder what it does…I tap the icon, and the end of my omni-tool lights up, casting a circle of light onto the area my omni-tool is pointing at. Garrus's does the same a few seconds afterwards. Loads of little markers pop up on and around the body.

"DNActive highlights DNA in a crime scene," Garrus explains. "Useful for picking out the little details." He frowns at the huge array of markers. "Not so useful when this kind of thing happens. Change the search parameters to get rid of Anthony's DNA markers."

Hey, this is surprisingly easy to use! All I have to do is press the button that changes the search, remove Anthony's DNA from showing up…every single marker disappears. Shit, that's not gone well.

"Hang on, Garrus, all my markers have disappeared. I'll start the search again…"

Garrus is glaring at his omni-tool, tapping buttons furiously, but seemingly to no avail. "You alright, Garrus?"

He holds up a talon. "Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations." Oh, ok…wait, what? He's pulling that line already?

"Damn," he says, turning to look back at me. "The only markers here are for Anthony's DNA. All the blood everywhere must be covering up all the killer's DNA!"

Ah, crap. It couldn't just be an open and shut case, could it? Garrus is pointing his omni-tool around the area, but nothing's showing up. Damn, no evidence? Really? How are we supposed to catch the killer with nothing to go on? I could always try and tell Garrus that we're looking for an elcor, but there's no way to do that without blowing my cover…wait, what's that mark on the wall? My eye has been caught on a small indentation on the wall of the corridor we're in. Considering the aesthetics of the Citadel are mainly smooth surfaces and clean surfaces, it's unlikely this was part of the initial wall fitting.

"Garrus!" I shout. "I think I've found something!"

Garrus looks over, frowning. I think he's still pissed off his masterful DNA scanning plan didn't work. "What is it, Ian? You found a DNA sample or something?"

"Not exactly. Can you grab that instrument case for me?"

Garrus hurries over, case in hand. "What's up?" I grab the case, and hold the dented part of it up to the dented part of the wall. They match in size and shape. Bingo! We just got our lead!

"That case isn't dented through age like the sergeant thought. This came recently, when Anthony Levi was attacked."

Garrus looks sceptical. "Nice work, Ian. But I don't really see how this helps the investigation."

Come on, Garrus, I though you were supposed to be a good detective! "Think about it. Anthony was probably carrying his case with him on his way home. The marks on his case and the wall show he was probably thrown or hit into the wall by his attacker. The case probably hit the wall first, making the dent, and slowing Anthony down enough that he just hit the wall and bounced off, rather than leaving a mark on it. But the impact probably still broke his back, leaving him completely defenceless against his assailant!"

Garrus's eyes and mandibles widen as it suddenly dawns on him. Nice, I'm actually doing some good detective work! "That's a pretty powerful throw," he says thoughtfully.

Ah, here's my chance to bring up the elcor theory! "As far as I can tell, only two species could hit or throw someone with that much force. A krogan, or an elcor. And how many of them do you see on the Citadel?"

Garrus raises an eyebrow. "Not very many. I think we're onto something here, Ian. We need to get back to C-Sec straight away and report this to Pallin."

"And then what?"

Garrus smiles. "We've got some alibis to check."

**A/N: 3000 words? My longest chapter yet!**

**Thanks to everyone who's read, subscribed, favourited or/and reviewed! You guys (and girls) are awesome. A word about my update speed: While things have been going very fast in the past week, my school work is starting to catch up with me very fast as well. Therefore, there may only be one or two chapters every set of weekdays, and one chapter every weekend. However, in two weeks time my school will break up for summer, and I WILL CHURN OUT SO MANY CHAPTERS YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE WITH THE SHEER AWESOMENESS. Or something like that.**

**Thanks for reading, and goodbye for now!**


	7. Ignorance and Informants

Chapter 7

"An elcor? Are you out of your mind, Ian?"

Pallin's reaction isn't surprising me in the slightest. It was pretty much guaranteed, unless I brought him the murderer's head on a silver platter, he'd 'dismiss my claim' in the inevitable turian manner. So Garrus and I turned up at C-Sec to report our findings to Pallin, and now he's turned it into a prime opportunity to have a go at me. Again.

"How do you propose an elcor would sneak up on someone? One of the largest species in the planet, also one of the slowest, and you're suggesting one managed to surprise a human, and throw him against a wall with lethal force? Nonsense. I prefer Vakarian's theory of a krogan behind the whole thing."

Funny that, since Garrus and I both presented our findings together, the bits he agrees with are Garrus's idea, and all the other parts are from my 'overactive imagination'.

"Do you think it's the krogan because you have deep racial hatred for them as well as humans? Or are you actually basing that conclusion on some kind of logic?" I ask, hint of annoyance to my tone. Seriously, Pallin has some real xenophobia issues. How does someone this deeply prejudiced end up controlling the security of the Citadel? Then again, the Council don't exactly have the best history of making good decisions from what I've seen in _Mass Effect_, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Especially if the turian councillor was involved in any of the decisions.

"The point is," Garrus says, leaping into the conversation before things become more hostile between me and Pallin than North Korea and pretty much every country on Earth, "that we've got this narrowed down to two species. Two species that aren't exactly common on the Citadel."

Pallin looks over at Garrus. I give him the middle finger while he's not looking. Yes, it's juvenile, but it makes me feel good in a midly rebellious sort of way, and Garrus struggles to keep a straight face. "What are you suggesting?" Pallin asks, completely oblivious to the tomfoolery going on behind him.

"I'm suggesting we interview every krogan and elcor registered in the Citadel. Check alibis, find out who's accounted for, and more importantly find out who isn't."

Pallin shakes his head. "Ridiculous. It would take weeks for you and your partner to check all of those people. By that time we could have a whole ward full of dead, organless people."

"Not if we cross-check that list with previous criminal offenders," I say. Pallin and Garrus look at me, Garrus surprised and Pallin giving what can only be described as the turian version of a condescending smile. Mandibles opened slightly, mouth open in a slight smirk. What I'd give for the Renegade interrupt symbol to pop up in the lower right of my vision…

"And what if the killer hasn't committed an offence before?" Pallin says patronisingly. "We'll have wasted days of work on searching for completely the wrong person."

"No offence, sir, but people don't suddenly go from being on the right side of the law to becoming killers. It's likely we're looking for someone with a history in illegal trading, work in the black-market, that sort of thing. You'd need to already be in the criminal underworld to know about the black-market organ business. I mean, it's not like you see adverts for it around, is it?" I glance over at Garrus. "You don't, do you?"

Garrus shakes his head. "No, certainly not. I think the Detective might be onto something here, sir."

Pallin frowns. "I'm not comfortable with it. We're taking a hell of a risk on one hare-brained theory from an inexperienced officer. I'm not prepared to put people's lives on the line for the human to prove himself!"

"Do you have any better ideas?" I shout at Pallin. Why is it that all our conversations seem to end up with one of us shouting at the other? Although, to be fair, he does bring it upon himself. I can't help it if he's an idiot. "We're putting people's lives on the line by not doing anything! The killer could be after his next victim as we speak!" I'm breathing heavily, and Pallin is shooting daggers at me with his eyes. If looks could kill, in relative terms he'd have dropped a freakin' nuke on me.

"Just give us a week, sir." Garrus speaks up, trying to be the voice of reason amongst me and Pallin. "One week, and if it doesn't turn out, you handle it your way. It's a win-win for you. We either catch the killer, or you get your chance to sack Ian." Nice thinking Garrus…Wait a minute, did he just bet my job on our hunch? No! I thought we were partners! That is not fucking cool!

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that…" I start to say, but Garrus shoots me a furious look which appears to say 'shut the fuck up'.

Pallin looks thoughtful for a few seconds, then a smile forms on his face. "Fine, Vakarian. One week to catch a killer, or your friend loses his job." His smile grows even wider. "That suits me just fine." He stares at both of us. I'm still shocked that Garrus just put my future on the line to try and prove us right…without even asking me in advance. I mean, that's just rude. "Better get going, detectives," he says sadistically. "Clock's ticking."

Garrus and I exchange glances, then simultaneously turn and start to walk out of the room.

"I'll see you in a week, _Ian,_" Pallin shouts behind us, clacking his mandibles loudly.

"Looking forward to it," I shout back. "A week's plenty of time to order our medals for when we catch this bastard." The door closes behind us to the sound of Pallin growling furiously.

I win.

######################################

So Garrus and I headed back to the investigation office, and are both sitting at Garrus's desk putting together a list of potential suspects on his terminal. Garrus is sitting there humming tunelessly as he works, but I'm still pissed of he just bet my job on proving Pallin wrong. I always knew he was supposed to be reckless, but this takes the freakin' biscuit. In fact, I think I'll take it up with him.

"Nice work in there, Garrus," I say, trying to add a hint of sarcasm to my tone.

"Thanks," Garrus replies, eyes remaining firmly glued to the terminal screen. He doesn't even miss a beat. Damn, guess he doesn't take a hint.

"Do you think it would have been…prudent, to ask me before pulling a stunt like that?"

Garrus swivels around, a mischievous glint in his eye. "And which stunt would that be?"

"Betting my entire career on our hunch? That little detail?"

"Relax, Ian. You seemed pretty confident about your theory before, right?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Then you've got nothing to worry about." Garrus smiles. "We catch the killer, save the Citadel from a deranged psychopath, maybe even get some kind of reward from Pallin for our efforts. A pay rise would be nice, or a medal," he says, looking out of the window thoughtfully.

I gawp at Garrus. How can he be talking about this so casually? If I lose my job, that's it, no joining Shepard, no taking on the Reapers, just trying to scrape a living working at some shop on Zakera Ward. And the Prothean visions suggest I've got a whole lot to find out, rather than just succumbing to a normal life. So yes, Garrus, I've got a hell of a lot to worry about. He clearly notices my look of disbelief.

"Come on Ian, it's not so bad." He says, with a wide grin. "Think of it as motivation, rather than the possible end of your career."

"Thanks, that's really supportive."

"No problem." Ah, we're already having so much fun. All the best partnerships set their other half up to get fired, right? Garrus turns back to the terminal. "The list is ready, by the way. Though I'm not sure you'll like the results..." I look over at the terminal screen. Our list of potential suspects contains over four thousand potential suspects. Well, shit. Looks like Pallin was right after all, the smug bastard. Better start gathering my things and cue the outro music…

"Garrus, that list is huge. There's no way we're going to find a killer from that many people in a week."

Garrus frowns. "I know. The problem is pretty much every krogan on the Citadel has some kind of criminal record, which is swelling up the numbers of suspects considerably." There's a surprise. The krogan don't really do much to dispel their negative stereotype, do they. Urdnot Wrex being the exception.

"Have you tried only searching for people with previous black-market experience?"

Garrus swivels back around on his chair and types away at the terminal. A few seconds later, the new search results pop up, with only five hundred potential suspects. Alright, now we're making progress! Although, five hundred is still a hell of a lot of elcor and angry krogan to investigate. And talking to angry krogan has been scientifically proven to be worse for your health than smoking, playing with matches and punching a bear. At the same time.

"Damn," Garrus sighs. "Five hundred is still way too many."

He's right, unfortunately. I could always investigate all the elcor on the list and hope I find our killer, but that could still take far too long considering there's about one hundred elcor on the list. Actually, one hundred elcor? That seems like an awfully high number for such a peaceful species. Garrus might be able to enlighten me further.

"What's with all the elcor on the list?" I ask innocently. No need for Garrus to find out about what I know about this case. At least, what I think I know. What if the elcor case was at a different time? What if it really is a krogan behind all this, and the elcor comes later? Oh god, that could definitely be problematic. Though Garrus would probably have mentioned that in the game if it had happened…so it's still a safe assumption we're looking for the elcor. I can't be sure though. Fucking paranoid instinct!

"I know, right?" Garrus says. "They don't exactly seem like master criminals, slow speed, aren't too handy in a fight, but the one thing going for them is that they're excellent liars. No kind of facial expression, monotone voices…it's an absolute nightmare interrogating them. Most black market businesses use an elcor in their shops. So, if a shop's actually just a front for the black market, an elcor will probably be placed to run the shop, so no-one has anyway of telling about the illegal parts of the business on a casual inspection. We only really catch elcor in the act, if we already know that the business they're running is just a front for the illegal business."

Ah, that explains it. The problem of five hundred krogan and elcor still complicates things somewhat. There's got to be something we can do…

"Have you got any informants, Garrus?"

He looks pretty confused by that. "What do you mean by that?"

"Anyone in the black market who owes you any favours, any people you've got employed to give you inside information?"

Garrus looks thoughtful for a few seconds, before a smile dawns on his face. "There could be one person. A volus I met a little while back in a crackdown on arms-dealing. He was doing some weapons trading on the side, but he had no idea how deep he was getting into things, so when C-Sec investigators turned up at his shop he got a bit of a shock, to say the least. He agreed to co-operate fully in our investigation, but I'm pretty sure if I paid him another visit he might be able to help us out. He's not exactly a major player…but if there's any rumours going around he's probably heard them."

Ah, that's what I like to hear. I think a little interrogation might be in order with ourselves and said volus, to see if he's got anything useful. I'm happy to pay a few credits for the information, but something tells me Garrus might be a little more inclined to go for a more hands-on approach. And by hands-on, I mean some good old fashioned police brutality. Memories of Harkin's interrogation in Garrus's loyalty mission are coming back…

"Where can we find this volus?"

"He runs an electrics store in the Lower Wards. Doesn't sell many good quality products, just some second hand omni-tools, private terminals, that sort of thing. Still, he makes a living."

Electronics store…well, if there's going to be any fighting, at least Garrus will be happy about where it's all going down. Not that there should be any fighting in the first place, unless it's the biotic god that is Niftu-Cal. Which is unlikely, seeing as he only appears in Mass Effect 2, and in Ilium for that matter. Still, best to consider all scenarios.

"I think we should pay your volus friend a visit."

A sharp smile forms on Garrus's face. "I couldn't agree more."

**A/N: This is a pretty short chapter considering the beastly 3,000 words I managed previously…but I want to write the volus interrogation in its full glory for next chapter rather than trying to cram it in now.**

**And we've reached the 1,000 hits mark! On Monday, to be precise. Thanks to everyone for reading…I really wasn't expecting that many views that quickly. Looks like a lot more people read fanfic than I initially thought :D.**

**So yeah, next chapter will be the volus and the electronics store…but you'll have to wait until the weekend for that. Sorry, but my school work and qualifications come first ****. And once again, thanks to everyone for reviewing, reading, subbing, favouriting and all that jazz.**

**Until next time…**


	8. Volus and Violence

Chapter 8

"This is the place?"

Garrus and I are standing outside of the volus's electronics shop, and well…it's a bit of a dump. There's a half-hearted attempt at a display where a few omni-tools and terminals are scattered on some low shelves, but the higher shelves are bare. Though that's probably because the volus can't actually reach the high shelves, mind. It must really suck to be a volus, being naturally short, fat, and having to suck in air like it's the last breath you'll ever take every few seconds. You can see why they're so reliant on the turians for military protection…they're not exactly natural soldiers. Hell, a volus army would probably last about a few minutes against one krogan battlemaster. And a few minutes is being optimistic for them, the poor bastards. Still, that's not really important, considering this going to be an interrogation rather than a fight.

"Sure is." Garrus frowns at the shop like its physically hurting him to look at it. "It's got a hell of a lot worse since I was last here…though it was never exactly the Sirta Foundation."

We've been looking through the shop window for a few minutes now, but we haven't seen the shopkeeper yet. He's probably busy at the back of the shop, but we have to go in eventually…

"Is there some sort of plan here, Garrus? I mean, I'm all for shopping, but time is of the essence and all that…"

"You go in first. If we both go in, he'll probably make be able to get to the back door and lock us out. We can't afford to let him get away."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Distract him. Bring him close to the front of the store, then page my omni-tool when you're ready. I'll come in, stop him from running, then we can get down to business."

Right, looks like I'm taking point. Garrus hides behind the corner of the shop, and I walk up to the front door. Well, here goes nothing. I pull on the door, and it doesn't open, just rattles in its frame. I try again, still nothing. This isn't Silent Hill! Doors don't just fail to open for no apparent reason! Damn, looks like we'll have to find another way in…a volus pops his head over the counter, and looks at me. Ah, there we are! The volus is in the building! I pull on the door again, look at him, point at the door and shrug. The volus's mouthpiece lights up.

"It's a *click* push door *click*."

I push on the door, and it swings open. Shit, that's really embarrassing…I'm supposed to be intelligent, and my investigation was almost foiled by a push door. I bet he's laughing behind that exo-suit, the bastard.

"What can I do *click* for you, Earth-clan? I have *click* a wide range of second hand *click* goods for a fine price, does *click* anything take your interest?"

Time to bullshit my way through this. How hard can it be? "Yeah, I saw a few omni-tools on the display that looked good…but they don't have a price on them. Can you help me out?"

The volus starts to waddle towards the front of the shop. He kind of looks like a penguin when he walks…actually, with his white and black exo-suit, he looks a bit like a penguin anyway. Not that a volus would know what a penguin is. Actually, it 2183…the polar ice caps have probably melted by now and penguins are therefore extinct. Up yours, Greenpeace!

"Which specific item were you confused about, Earth-clan?" The volus asks. Everything's in position. Time to call in the cavalry. I send the page to Garrus on my omni-tool. Now all I have to do is wait…

I point at a random omni-tool. "That one!"

The volus tilts his head and inspects it. "An excellent *click* choice…I'll see if I can make *click* you a deal on it." The door starts to shake as someone tries, unsuccessfully, to open it. That'll be Garrus, then.

"It's a push door!" The volus and I both shout at the same time. Garrus walks in, looking pretty flustered at the ordeal that is a push door. Hell, he looks like he was just about ready to blow it off its hinges. The volus doesn't seem to notice his annoyance.

"Ah, hello, Palaven-clan. What can I *click* get you today…" The volus does a double take on Garrus. Time seems to stand still. Garrus and the volus stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, Garrus's talon hovering over his pistol, the volus in a position showing he's deciding between fighting or running. Then, time rushes back to normality as he decides to make a break for it. He tries to run past me, but I stick my leg out and he goes tumbling over, with a little cry of shock.

Well, so much for high speed pursuit.

###########################

Garrus slams the volus against the wall. "Who's the dealer? Don't lie to me, Hante!"

My guess that Garrus would probably wade straight in with the violence has been proven, unfortunately, correct. Garrus asked exactly the same question when the interrogation started, the volus didn't answer and, well, here we are.

"I don't *click* (the clicks are getting more and more frequent as the volus starts freaking out, but that's fair enough) know what *click* you're talking about!"

I'm going to try being the good cop to Garrus's bad cop. "Just tell us what we want to know, Hante. We know you've got links to the black market, and someone selling human organs must be making some ripples, if you know what I mean. I don't want to make this any harder than it has to be."

Garrus lifts the volus another inch up the wall. "I'm not too bothered about that," he growls, with a twisted grin on his face. Fair play, Garrus really knows how to sell 'maniac cop' in interrogations. He looks pretty scary…more like Saren than the C-Sec officer I've got to know over the past two days.

"I'll *click* talk! Just get *click* your crazy friend to *click* let go of me!"

I give Garrus a nod, but he keeps staring at the volus with that look in his eyes, oblivious to my gesture. Oh God, he's this vindictive with suspects even before the Sidonis ordeal? I can't say I like it too much…

"Garrus, let him go!"

That seems to shake him out of his daze, and he drops the volus to the floor while taking a few steps backwards. Hante clutches at his throat and makes a heavy wheezing sound. This last for about a minute.

"Hante, if you don't start talking, the detective here can go through the motions again!" I say, pointing at Garrus, who flexes his talons menacingly.

"Fine," Hante says, limping towards the shop counter. "I keep all my *click* black market data on datapads back here…I'll just *click* fetch them for you."

Hante goes under the counter, presumably to look for the datapads. Nice, now we're making some progress! I would worried this would be some kind of horribly difficult thing to do, but he's singing like a bird…the shop is suddenly bathed in red light as an alarm goes off and shutters slam down around the counter, sealing Hante inside. Shit, I spoke _way _too soon. Panels open on the ceiling and something falls out, and starts to unfold…oh crap, security mechs! And they're armed! The one closest to me points its pistol in my direction and starts firing. We're under attack, and I'm completely unprepared!

Garrus dives for cover, and I do the same, ending up behind a shelf of old terminals and omni-tools. My first firefight…oh God, please don't get shot, please don't get shot…Garrus is already returning fire from his side, sending three expert shots that take a mech's head off and send it, and the omni-tools around it, exploding in a shower of sparks. One down, three to go. I blind-fire around the corner, then peek around to see if I caused any damage. There's a mech standing there with partially depleted shields, so I spray bullets at it until it finally goes down with a shot through the chest, collapsing to the floor with it's mechanical eyes flickering and sparking. The mech closing in on my left hand side suddenly spasms and collapses as sparks start flying from it, and I see Garrus with his omni-tool open pointing it in my direction. Oh, nice Overload! I really need to learn how to use that…the last mech focuses on my position, firing at my cover and tearing it apart. Garrus heads out of his cover and fires at the mech, drawing its attention away from me. I step out too and shoot, taking my time with the shots now, aiming rather than using my previous 'spray and pray' tactics. The mech is temporarily confused, not sure which target to go for, and Garrus takes advantage by firing two shots into its head. I send the final one that takes it clean off, and the mech tumbles to the floor. Alright! Cue the iconic Final Fantasy 7 victory music! Or FF12, that had pretty cool music as well…

"Ian, it's going to blow! Get out of there!" Garrus yells.

The mech is fizzing violently as sparks fly everywhere from it. What was it about headless mechs that's so important? Oh yeah, they blow the fuck up! I sprint away from the mech, as the explosion rocks the store behind me and sends me tumbling head over heels into a shelf. Shit, that hurts! I get up carefully, testing my limbs carefully before putting weight onto them. No broken bones, no major injuries, just a few cuts and bruises for trophies.

Garrus rushes over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Nothing serious."

He frowns. "You sure? I've got some medi-gel if you need it."

I shake my head. I'm stingy as hell with the medi-gel in the game, and I'm employing the same policy here. "I told you, I'm fine." I indicate to the counter with my pistol. "But someone's got some serious explaining to do."

Garrus opens his omni-tool and starts hacking the shutters, whilst storming towards the counter. "Too fucking right."

#######################

The volus is up against the wall again, but this time Garrus is pointing a pistol in his face and I don't feel too inclined to help the little guy.

"You tried to get me and my partner killed, Hante! So unless you tell us what we want to know, we're going to have a go at killing you!" Garrus winks at him. "And at this range, I don't think I'll miss, do you?"

Hante looks over to me, as if imploring me to help him out like last time. I shake my head, and Garrus pulls his face back to him. "Last chance, Hante! Who's the supplier!"

The volus squirms in Garrus's grip, to no avail. "Fine *click* I'll *click* tell you everything! Just *click* don't kill me!"

Garrus drops the volus to the ground, and we both train our guns on him. "Everything, now!" Garrus snaps.

"You must *click* understand, Earth-clan and Palaven-clan, I am *click* not involved in the *click* organ trade. Just rumours is *click* what I hear, that's all!"

I'm getting sick of this. I fire a shot into the wall next to the volus, making him jump with fright. "Spit it out, Hante! We don't have time for this shit!"

"Alright!" Hante squeals, in the most high pitched voice I've ever heard from a volus. "People have *click* been saying that the *click* organs have been coming from a *click* new supplier. No-one has seen his face *click* but that doesn't make much of a *click* difference. Everyone recognises a *click* elcor when they see one."

That proves it! We're looking for an elcor. Yes, now we're finally getting somewhere! All I have to do now is determine which one on the list is our man and that's it, mission accomplished! We might be able to stop the Tayseri Ward Butcher before the station wide panic! Of course, Garrus isn't able to appreciate the true importance of this revelation, but he seems happy with the information nonetheless.

"That narrows it down to a hundred suspects, Ian," Garrus whispers to me, out of Hante's earshot. "We're finally getting close to nailing this bastard." My thoughts exactly, mate. We've still got the problem of Hante, though.

"What are we going to do with him?" I ask, deliberately raising my voice so that Hante can hear me.

"I've called in some officers to arrest him," Garrus says, toying with his pistol. "That said, I don't mind making sure he'll stay put…" He aims the gun at the volus's leg. Wait, no! Police brutality isn't fun for anyone! I knock Garrus's arm out of the way, sending his shot flying into the roof.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shout at Garrus. He's not this bad until Mass Effect 2! He shouldn't be shooting people we've interrogated already!

"He tried to kill us, he doesn't deserve to get away with it this easily!"

"He's not getting away with it! C-Sec are taking him in, and he'll serve his time for what he tried to do. But we do NOT take the law into our own hands. We're cops, not vigilantes!" Well, at least not yet.

Garrus shakes his head. "Whatever, we'll play this your way." He cuffs Hante to the counter for the officers en-route. "You're damn lucky my partner was here to stop me," he growls into Hante's face, before walking out the shop furiously. I follow close behind.

Garrus stands outside the shop, breathing heavily. Wow, he's really pissed off he didn't get to shoot anything organic. Too bad.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looks down at the floor. "Thanks for…stopping me. I think I would have regretted it."

I slap him on the back. "Hey, we're partners," I say, mirroring his words when I first met him in C-Sec. "We look out for each other."

Garrus nods. "Yeah, I guess you'r…"

Garrus's omni-tool suddenly starts going crazy as we walk away from the store. He looks at it and sighs. "Fuck."

"What?"

"Pallin's been sending messages while we were in the shop. Guess we didn't get a signal in there or something."

That's weird, Pallin would be the last person I'd expect to be sending us messages for no reason. "What do they say?"

Garrus starts to read through it, then looks at me with shock. "Get in the cruiser. Now."

Okay, now this is REALLY weird. "What's wrong? What does the message say?"

"It's not good." Garrus frowns. "There's two more dead, Tayseri Ward, all their organs gone."

Oh no…looks like our killer struck again. Damn it!

"It gets worse," he says. "Guess who found out first."

How it can get worse than a double murder is beyond me. "I have literally no idea."

"Westerlund News."

Ah, that's how.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that.**

**I normally like to be able to say when an update will be coming…but this week that's really not possible. I have coursework and assignments coming out of my ears, but it should be done within a week and a bit, and then I'll be able to update more regularly again!**

**Next chapter! Khallisa Al-Jilani! I'm having a moral quandary about whether or not to get her punched in some manner…so please vote in the reviews section for whether or not to punch Al-Jilani. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Reporters and Revelations

Chapter 9

So, yeah, Al-Jilani. I can tell this is going to be a barrel of laughs when Garrus and I touch down at Tayseri Ward. Wasn't someone back in Investigation supposed to be keeping her off our backs? Because they haven't done a very good job of it. She'll probably want to talk to Garrus and I about it, considering we're the detectives in charge of the investigation. By 'talk', I mean 'jump to outrageous, completely wrong conclusions that make her seem interesting and us look bad'. God, tabloid journalism hasn't changed at all in a hundred and seventy years. I've never been much good at public speaking, and Garrus seems pretty shy from what I can tell. Yeah, if he takes an interview anywhere near like he takes talking to femShepard in Mass Effect 2, we're in a heap of trouble. I could always just hit the bitch, she deserves much worse than that…but the repercussions could be huge and frankly I don't have time for that shit. Unless no-one saw me throw the punch, but she's got that bloody hovering camera following her around. My mind goes back to the mech in the electronics store, exploding in a shower of sparks as Garrus pointed his omni-tool at it…idea!

"Garrus, how do I blow up mechs with my omni-tool?" Garrus gives me an extremely odd look. Hmm, I probably could have phrased that a little bit better. Better elaborate. "You know, back in the store, when you got that one behind me with your omni-tool?"

"What? An Overload?"

Yes, I know it's called an Overload, but annoyingly I need to play stupid to maintain my cover. Ignorance is bliss. "Yeah, that sounds about right. How do I do it? It looks pretty useful."

"You want to learn it now?" He says, cynically. "It's not as easy as just pressing a button, you know."

I raise an eyebrow. "Hey, whatever happened to being a quick learner? I believe they were your exact words after our shooting exercises yesterday."

Garrus laughs, flaring his mandibles. "Well remembered. Fine, we've got time to kill. I suppose I can drive and teach at the same time. Open up your omni-tool."

The orange screen pops up on my arm. I'm getting very used to this, very quickly. I was always pretty reliant on my iPod touch back in 2010, but this beats the crap out of it. My iPod doesn't send out electric shocks, after all. Well, not unless I dip it in some water, but that's more of a one time only thing. "Shit, Garrus, this is a really hard lesson! Opening an omni-tool is pretty extreme work," I tease.

Garrus looks over, tired smile on his face. "If you're going to be a prick about it, I won't bother teaching you." Hey, he's picked up saying 'prick' surprisingly quickly for a human word. Probably because I say it far too much…that reminds me that I don't know any turian curses yet. Eh, all in good time.

"Let's get on with it, then."

############################

By the time we've touched down at the crime scene, I'd say I'm pretty proficient with Overload. It's not too hard, surprisingly. Nowhere near as much as Garrus made it out to be, anyway. Basically, it involves creating a charge through the omni-tool that is powerful enough to mess with your target but isn't so large it causes the omni-tool to short-circuit or something. I'm not going to be able to explode a YMRI mech with one point of an omni-tool just yet, but I think I'm powerful enough for what I've got in mind. If it comes to it, anyway. Maybe Garrus will just take this all in his stride.

"You ever done an interview before, Garrus?"

He tilts his head slightly, seemingly unsure. "Errrr…"

"It's a yes or no question, Garrus."

He gives me a pissed off look for my sarcasm. "Sure, I've done them before, but that was a turian news channel and it was all rehearsed. Not this live interview stuff, on a human network. A network with a somewhat questionable style on other species." He smirks at me.

"Hey, believe me, I'm not the biggest fan of Westerlund News either," I say defensively, holding up my hands. "Xenophobia really isn't my thing."

Garrus looks a bit surprised. "What, you don't even have any slight issues working with a turian, or meeting another species? Most people aren't exactly keen on 'aliens'."

"No issues," I say, smiling. It's completely true. I don't care what species they are, if I can get along with them then they're fine by me. It's kind of crap how close-minded some people are in this galaxy about the aliens. That didn't work out too well in District 9 when the aliens start killing people at the end of the film because people wouldn't even give them basic rights. Just because someone looks like a lizard and could crush you with hand doesn't mean they're not a good person, Urdnot Wrex being a prime example of that. Garrus is one of the coolest guys I've met, Tali is attractive and she's not human…wait, did I really just think that? Shit, I haven't even seen her in the flesh yet!

Garrus still looks unconvinced by my answer. "Look, I'll explain my views on it later, but after we've dealt with all this first. Deal?"

He smiles, stretching his mandibles out. "Fine, but I'm holding you to that." He pops the doors on the cruiser open. "Shall we?"

I can already see Al-Jilani standing by the scene, reading through a datapad. She's probably rehearsing all the bullshit she's going to ask me and Garrus…perfect.

"Sure, got nothing better to do than look at dead bodies." We both get out of the car and head towards the crime scene, and the inevitable media presence.

##########################

"Detectives? A moment of your time, please?" Al-Jilani practically skips over to us, face hardly concealing the glee on her face at such a big scoop. She's said, what, seven words? And I already hate her guts. This is going to be a fun interview. I really don't know why she asked for a minute of out time, since she's effectively blocking our path, meaning we don't really have a chance to decline. She look at Garrus and frowns.

"I'd rather just talk to the human detective, if it's all right with you."

For a second it looks like Garrus is going to push it, but he relaxes and nods. "Sure." He looks at me. "I'll be over at the crime scene when you're done." Great, now I'm flying solo without anyone to back me up if I make a hash of this! As if having to do the interview wasn't bad enough, fate decides to kick me while I'm already down.

Al-Jilani gives me a curt look. "What's your name?"

"Ian. Ian ******"

"You ready? We're live in five."

As ready as I'll ever be. "What, five minutes?"

"No, five seconds." The camera flashes, temporarily blinding me. Shit, my eyes! Gotta fight through the pain!

"I'm here, live, in Tayseri Ward, where a double murder has rocked the Citadel." Well, that's a gross exaggeration. No-one would be too bothered if you weren't spinning it all out of proportion, you bigoted hag. "In a bizarre case, the victim's organs have been removed, and the scene here is nothing short of disgusting!" Yet another exaggeration, the C-Sec officers have done a surprisingly good job of cleaning up. I mean, there's a few blood stains, but it's the kind of thing you'd see on an early night TV drama, not a fucking horror film!

"With me now is the C-Sec detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Ian ******. Detective, thanks for joining us." Yeah, it's not like I was press-ganged into it or anything. "So, what can you tell us about this atrocity?"

Ah, guess that's my cue to start talking, and I don't really know what I can and can't say about what we know. To be fair, most of what Garrus and I have is speculation backed up with my knowledge from a separate dimension that I shouldn't have. Probably shouldn't tell her that.

"Well, as you already pointed out, two people have been killed and their organs removed. We're unsure of the motivations for this at this time, but are currently pursuing all lines of inquiry." Very robotic, non-commital answer. Just what I was going for. Now fuck off Al-Jilani!

"We know the facts of the case, Ian," she says with a patronising smile. My fist is flexing… "But what I, and the viewers at home, want to know is how this kind of thing can happen right under C-Sec's noses! Why can this psychopathic murderer not be caught?"

"Like I said, we're pursuing all lines of inquiry, and we can't be everywhere at once, but the killer will be brought to…"

"How did C-Sec turn up to the crime scene, after Westerlund News's team? Why wasn't the response quicker? How can a killer be stopped with this kind of police blundering?"

Shit, trying to play this polite isn't going to work. Time to change tactics.

"Well, C-Sec was probably unable to get here because the person who reported this to you thought it would be better to inform a news station, rather than the authorities." Al-Jilani frowns. This new approach seems to have caught her off guard. Just what I was hoping for. "We can catch this killer," I continue, looking directly into the camera, "but we need public co-operation to do it, not someone thinking it's more important to get a few credits telling a news crew about a killing, rather than helping bring the murderer down by informing C-Sec!"

"That's not the point!" Al-Jilani says, hurriedly. Looks like the pressure is getting to her. "C-Sec should be able to catch the killer quicker than this! How are you seemingly no further forward now than since the last murder?"

"Because," I say, "of people like you, obstructing my investigation and preventing me from doing my job. I need to go and examine this crime scene and try to find the evidence to bring this killer down, not play your little game of an interview! How ironic, and quite honestly hypocritical, that I'm being stopped by the very person lecturing me on C-Sec apparently being unable to investigate." I glare at her, then back at the camera. "Are we done here? I've got a job to do."

Al-Jilani looks furious, but keeps her voice level for the camera. "Just one. How does it feel to be working with a species humanity and your parents fought, and what some would say was betraying your species by working with turians?" Holy shit…did she really just say that? She's going to that blatantly racist? Right, that's it, I'm putting my plan into effect. Like fuck am I going to answer that kind of question.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I ask, innocently, opening up my omni-tool behind my back and preparing a small Overload.

"You heard me," she says, haughty smile back on her face. "Answer the question." I release the Overload, and the camera fizzes before crashing to the ground. Al-Jilani turns around to look at it, shock over her face. I stride up to her.

"That turian over there is twice the man than a hell of a lot of humans, you bloody xenophobe. I trust him with my life, so don't go giving me some crap about how 'turians are the enemy', because it's all bullshit!"

She smirks at me. "Getting into bed with a turian." She shakes her head and tuts. "C-Sec detective is a xenophile. Great story for the headlines! Thanks for the interview!" You fucking bitch! I'm moving before I can even think about it, throwing my weight into a perfect right hook that connects solidly with Jilani's face. She spins to the floor, clutching her now bleeding nose and hurtling off a string of curse words. "You bastard!" she screams. "I'll get you for this!"

Now it's my turn to smirk. "Last I checked, your camera was broken. No-one's ever going to know. Besides, you're under arrest. I'll just claim you resisted and I had to take you down."

She gawps at me. This really shouldn't feel so satisfying. "I'm under arrest? On what grounds?"

"Obstructing an official investigation and harassing a senior officer," I say calmly, beckoning a nearby C-Sec officer over.

"Can you escort Miss Al-Jilani here back to a holding cell in Investigation for me, please? I'll deal with her when I get back to the office."

The officer nods. "Yes, sir."

"Thanks." Al-Jilani is bundled into a nearby cruiser, screaming out some rubbish about reporter's rights and how outrageous the situation is. Heh, I should do TV interviews more often. I wonder how she's going to react when I see her with Shepard in two years…fun times abound. Ah, Garrus is giving me an impatient look. Better head over to the crime scene and get back to work.

###################

"That was an…unorthodox way of dealing with an interview," Garrus says, smiling. "Unless that's how it's done in human culture, I wouldn't really know."

"You don't seem to disapprove," I reply.

He shakes his head and flares his mandibles angrily. "That bitch has been a thorn in C-Sec's side for as long as I can remember. The constant xenophobia, going on about C-Sec incompetence and all that crap…" He gives me an admiring look. "I've thought about hitting her a few times, but looks like you beat me to the punch. No pun intended. Though that's not going to look to good on the live feed, C-Sec officer punching a journalist."

"Ye of little faith!" Garrus looks confused. "It's a human phrase." He still looks confused. "I Overloaded the camera when she asked me a particularly…inappropriate question. Wouldn't want my fine reputation tarnished by a few seconds rage. Besides, I've put her under arrest for obstructing the investigation, so we won't be seeing much more Khalissa Al-Jilani for a little while."

Garrus laughs. "Perfect! Pallin's been trying to get her off our backs for a while now, but no-one's ever had the guts to do something about her. I think he's actually going to be happy to see you when we get back."

Somehow I doubt it. "Yeah, that'll be a first."

"You usually seem pretty calm," Garrus says, obviously curious. "What did she have to ask to get you that pissed off?"

"Like I said, I don't like xenophobia. Plus, she insinuated some rather inappropriate things about my sexuality and turians. She was asking for a punch."

Garrus chuckles. "She said you were into turians? That's a low blow, even for her. Unless you are interested in turians, of course." He's smirking now. Ah, this conversation is going off track a lot more than I'd like. Not necessarily interested in turians, Garrus, but quarians…shit, stop thinking about it! Change topics!

I gesture at the scene. The bodies have been put back together as best as possible, and we've got a human female and turian male as the victims. Blood everywhere, check. Stench of death, check. God, police work is depressing, though I'm starting to get used to it after we saw the first corpse. Still, not exactly what I want to be seeing every day on the job for the next two years. "As riveting as this discussion is, we should probably start doing some kind of detective work. What do we know here?"

Garrus seems disappointed that we're not taking the conversation any further, but I'm sure he's not going to forget about. The bastard loves having stuff to bait me with. "Not much. The turian, Caeleus Darafin, was heading back to his apartment in the ward, and it looks like the human, Jill Robertson, was going with him." He frowns. "It's weird, you don't see inter-species couples very often. Especially not human and turian."

Wow, that reminds about Shepard and Garrus romance in a few years, if it ever happens. I'm totally going to hook them up if the chance arises. God, I'm getting ahead of myself!

"What, you don't approve of interspecies romance?" I ask, innocently enough. If he's not interested, I'm sure Shepard could make do with Thane or Kaidan.

"Not got a problem with it," he says, "just not necessarily interested in it myself. I don't exactly have a fetish for humans…"

Wow, way too much information! Save it for the Normandy SR-2! How come our conversation keeps coming back to interspecies stuff! "Thanks Garrus, that'll do." He stops, looking a bit embarrassed. "You done a DNA scan yet?"

That seems to cheer him up. "Yeah, and the results aren't bad. We've got a positive match on elcor DNA structure." Brilliant! "But the whole thing' so contaminated with the turian and human blood it's going to take days to work out the full DNA code and find out who it belongs to. Maybe weeks." Shit, we don't have that long! Still, this confirms an elcor killer, and we can finally start checking all the alibis of the elcor on our list, so some progress is better than nothing.

"We need to tell this to Pallin," Garrus continues. "He'll probably start taking our investigation seriously if we can present him some hard evidence for once."

"Good point. It might even stop me losing my job if this takes longer than a week." I glare pointedly at Garrus, but he just ignores me. "Anything else we need to get done here?"

He shakes his head. "The other officers can clean up here. Get in the cruiser." We start walking over to the cruiser, then Garrus opens his mouth to say something, thinks about it, then shuts it again. Hmm, that's odd.

"What is it, Garrus? Something bothering you?"

"I'm not sure…" he looks pretty deep in thought. "It's just, an elcor managing to kill one human could be down to luck. But a human and a turian, before either of them can fight back? It's seems weird to me."

Good point. Elcor really aren't suited to murder, and there's no trace of weapon fire or anything like that. "We can ask him about that when we find him. Right now we got to catch this killer, we can think about how he managed to do it afterwards."

"Yeah, you're right," Garrus says, hopping into the driver's seat. "It's probably nothing." I doubt that very much…but we should find out in good time. He flicks the engine on, and we speed away from the carnage of Tayseri Ward towards C-Sec headquarters.

**A/N: Yes, I'm back. School is officially over for six weeks! Though I will be on holiday for one of those weeks (I'll warn you all about that before I leave though, it's not for a while yet.) Anyway, thanks to everyone who voted last chapter…there was a large response for punching her and I didn't want to disappoint ;). I also tried shaming her before the actual punch, thanks to the people who suggested that to me. The entire Al-Jilani scene was pretty good fun to write!**

**Next up, more Pallin, interviewing elcors, and the net starts to close in our killer! Exciting times! **

**And for anyone with concerns about why Ian is in the ME universe and all the plot holes involved with that (how had he already applied for C-Sec etc.) those questions will start to be answered with after the elcor case is finished. The overarching plotline shall continue!**

**Thanks for reading, and see you next time!**

**P.S.: Herr Wozzeck, this is for the final two chapters of Mass Vexations and getting me in them, twice.**

**You just lost the game.**


	10. Apologies and Apartments

Chapter 10

"So I hit her, then put her under arrest for obstructing the investigation."

Pallin actually laughs at that, turian smile firmly on his face. "Obviously I can't condone you hitting a journalist…but you say her camera broke under mysterious circumstances?"

Garrus and I both nod vigorously.

"Well, if there's no evidence that you weren't provoked, I can't be expected to give some kind of punishment, right?" We both nod again. Pallin seems to have cheered up a lot since we got back from Tayseri Ward. At first he was his usual self, annoyed to see us, but the Al-Jilani story has actually perked him up for the first time I've seen. He's not actually trying to humiliate me, for once, which is nice.

"It gets better," Garrus says confidently. "We managed to recover a DNA sample from the crime scene. It's been contaminated a lot, but we've managed to determine it's an elcor DNA structure." He looks over at me. "Ian was right after all."

Pallin nods, and sits behind his desk. "Well, in light of this new evidence, I can offer you full support in that line of investigation. How many elcor are on the suspect list you drew up?"

"Around a hundred."

He smiles again. "Perfect. I'll send out some regular officers to check alibis and investigate those elcor." Alright, Pallin is finally on board! "I don't often say this, but you two have done a pretty good job."

Wow, was that actually praise? From Pallin? Miracles really do happen.

"So, are we still working to a week's deadline?" I ask. Seems as good a time as any to bring up the issue that's been bothering me since Pallin and I last talked.

"Don't worry, Ian, your job is safe," Pallin says, in a tone that implies he knew I was going to ask that. "You've both been vital to how well this investigation is going."

We both give him a nod of thanks. I thought Pallin was going to be a problem for the next two years, but it looks like we could be forming the basis of an actual professional relationship here, rather than just shouting at each other. Good thing too, I was getting somewhat sick of all the verbal sparring.

"What's our next move, sir?" Garrus asks.

"You two need to head up the questioning team. A unit of six should be able to cover all the suspects quickly. You and Ian head out and join in the questioning too, see what you can find."

"Right," I say. "We'll head out tomorrow, it's already late. Most of the suspects will be sleeping or out in the Citadel. Better to catch them in the morning when they're less prepared." Good idea, Garrus. I like your thinking. "We'll meet the squad early tomorrow, in the lobby at seven."

"I'll send in a request." He frowns. Now what? "I'm just shocked it's an elcor we're looking for."

Not you as well! "Why would that be?"

"They're not killers. If you told me an elcor could manage to kill two humans and a turian, I would have laughed at you." Yeah, you probably would have done that to me regardless of what I told you. "Yet here we are."

"Maybe he has an accomplice," Garrus suggests. "Someone doing the killing for him, then he removes the organs?"

"Unlikely," I say. "If he's stooped so low he's killing people for money, why would he want to share the profits with someone else? I think it's a one man job. Besides, we only found elcor DNA."

Pallin holds up a talon for silence. "We'll find out once he's brought in. You two, get ready for tomorrow. Get some sleep or something. You've got a long day ahead of you."

Garrus and I head out to leave, but Pallin shouts out. "Not you, Ian. I'd like to have a word with you before you leave." Great, I knew this meeting had gone far too well. Now it's time for the inevitable lecture without Garrus backing me up. Garrus gives me a concerned look. I think he's jumped to the same conclusion.

"It's fine. Wait for me outside." Garrus reluctantly walks out of the door, and I turn to face Pallin. "What is it?"

He fixes me with his stare for a few seconds, then sighs. "I wanted to apologise. I've let my prejudices get in the way of my, and your, job…and you've proven me wrong." Wait a minute, is _Pallin_ actually saying sorry to _me_? Is he high on red sand or something?

"I've proven you wrong?"

"Yes," he says with a frown. "I thought humans were all headstrong, arrogant fools who had no place in detective work. Yet you've been consistently right throughout this investigation with your elcor theory, even when I was convinced a krogan was behind it all. You handled that Al-Jilani woman better than the whole department has managed in all the years she's been bothering us. You're working with a turian with no problems whatsoever, indeed, Detective Vakarian seems to have taken quite a shine to you. A lot of turians and humans won't even talk to each other unless they're forced."

Wow, this is…surreal. This is like Lieutenant Blake apologising to Norman Jayden for being a twat throughout the game, I can barely believe what I'm hearing!

"Thank you, sir." I manage to stutter out.

"I'm still not the biggest fan of your species, Ian," he continues. Well, getting rid of his xenophobia in one go was a bit of a long shot. "But you've proven to be an exception to the stereotype. In turian culture, our work ethic says we…"

"Can do what you want, unless it interferes with your, or another person's work. I know." Pallin looks surprised. Shit, I really shouldn't have said that, considering I probably shouldn't know it. "I studied alien culture for a bit before law. It's one of the things that drew me to C-Sec, to work in the cultural hub of the galaxy," I explain. It's a pretty weak excuse, but it'll have to do. Thankfully, Pallin seems convinced by it.

"As I was saying, I've ignored my own moral code for some petty argument with you. And you've proven to be a valuable asset to C-Sec." He stretches out a talon, presumably for me to shake. "I'm prepared to…_forget _our previous conversations and start again. For both our benefits."

Oh, hell yes! I'd better try not to seem too ecstatic that this is actually happening, considering I thought we'd be at each others throats for two years. I shake the talon.

"I'd appreciate that, sir."

"Excellent. Now, go home and get some rest. You and Vakarian are probably going to need it." He gestures at the door.

Right then. I start to walk out, then turn around. "Pallin…thanks."

He waves me away with his talon. "Don't think we're friends now or something, Ian. It's mutual respect, nothing more."

Ah, good to know where we stand. I swivel on my heel and head out of the office.

##########################

Garrus rushes over as soon as I walk out of Pallin's office, concern spread across his face. I see what Pallin meant by him taking a shine to me…it's nice to see he really cares.

"You alright? What did he say?"

I shake my head. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Garrus folds his arms and tilts his head. "Try me."

"He apologised to me. Said he'd been prejudiced and getting in my way, and that by turian standards that was completely wrong."

"You're right, I don't believe you." I frown, and he laughs. "It's a joke, Ian. But still, that doesn't seem like his style."

"You're telling me." I shrug. "I'm going to take any chances he gives me, though."

"Good attitude," he nods approvingly. "Opportunities from Pallin are rarer than krogan not affected by the genophage!"

Heh, that's a pretty good analogy. Turian sense of humour, always taking the piss out of krogan. Then again, the genophage was a pretty big 'fuck you' in the first place, so a few jokes at the expense of the krogan are the least of their worries in that respect.

"You heading home?" Garrus asks. "I can give you a ride if you want."

"No thanks. I'm staying in a hotel not far from here anyway, there's no need…"

"You're staying in a hotel?" he says is an astonished tone. "How can you afford that?"

Yeah, about that…"I can't really. It's just until I find somewhere more permanent to move into, I only arrived on the Citadel about two days ago." Though probably not how you think I got here, Garrus.

"Come on, you can stay at my place," he offers. "There's no way you'll be able to afford that for much longer with Citadel prices." He has got a point…the hotel is making a hefty dent in my credits. Besides, Garrus is a pretty cool person to be flatmates with, and the more I get to know him the better, especially when Shepard rolls around in two years. I don't exactly want him going off fighting the Reapers by himself while I'm stuck with Pallin and C-Sec. So yeah, this is the perfect opportunity. Of course I'll do it!

"You sure?" I ask warily. "I don't want to inflict myself on you like this if you prefer."

"Relax Ian, I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it. Besides, it'll be nice to have someone else around. It gets pretty lonely living by yourself around here." A bit lonely? Oh, I hope he's not misinterpreting this Mordin Solus style if you talk to him a lot without having a romance…that was one _really_ awkward conversation. Garrus obviously picks up on my suspicions.

"I don't mean lonely like that, Ian."

"What? No, of course not, that's crazy…" Damn, this turned awkward really quickly. Fair play to Garrus for picking up on what I was thinking, that turian sure can read people like a book when he wants to.

"I don't have that many friends on the station," he explains. "C-Sec doesn't exactly have the best hours, and a lot of people don't want to know you if you're a cop. It's not the most glamorous career, is it?"

"Got that right. Investigating a triple homicide for a job isn't exactly the biggest turn on. At least, not by human standards."

"Turians don't really go for that either. Looks like our species have something in common there." We both laugh. Yep, looks like going for that flatshare was a good idea. Certainly beats sitting in a hotel room by myself thinking about home and all the other freaky shit that's happened to me over the past few days.

"So, we going to go?" Garrus asks. "I mean, we could just stand here all night if you prefer, but I'd quite like to sleep on something comfortable, rather than my desk."

Alright, enough with the sarcasm. "Well, I don't actually know where you live, so me taking the lead probably wouldn't be the best idea."

Garrus sighs. "Good point. Follow me then."

#######################

"When you said you had a place, I didn't think you meant this!"

Garrus's apartment is…well, it's absolutely huge. Probably bigger than my house back on Earth in 2010, and that was hardly small. He's got turian art around the place, a large kitchen in one corner and a wide corridor presumably leading off to the bedrooms.

"It was a present," Garrus explains, sounding rather embarrassed. "My father bought it for me when I joined the force. Said I have somewhere nice to relax after work." Ah, no wonder he's embarrassed about it, knowing that his father bought it to keep Garrus where he wanted him.

"You don't sound too relaxed."

He swivels around, looking a bit peeved. Hmm, that wasn't the best, most polite thing to say in hindsight. "I don't like living somewhere he bought me. It's like he's trying to control me even when I'm working by myself, like he did when I was younger."

Well, I knew Garrus resented his dad, but he just skirts around it in the game. My curiosity's getting the better of me… "What, your father the C-Sec legend? You've got father issues with him?" I ask incredulously, doing my best to feign surprise.

"It's a long story." Garrus says. Damn, I was starting to get really interested as well, but I'd better not push it. "And not the happiest either. I'll tell you about it some other time, when you tell me about why you're so casual around aliens."

Oh, he remembered! Awesome! "Alright. But I'm holding you to that."

We stand in a thoughtful silence for a few seconds, before Garrus finally breaks it. "So, you'll be sleeping in the spare room through there." He points at the corridor I noticed before. "It's got a bed in it, though the bed might be a little bigger than you're used to. It's built for turians, after all."

Considering Garrus is about seven feet tall to my five feet nine inches, I guess I'm going to have a lot of room. Not that I'm complaining about that.

"Private terminal over there, connected to C-Sec networks in case I ever need to get something done at home." Hmm, that could certainly be useful in the future…we'll have to wait and see. "Oh, do you like art?" He points to various sculptures, presumably of turian making if Papa Vakarian had any hand in buying them. What is it Kasumi says about turian art in Donovan Hock's vault?

"You don't see much turian art." I say, smiling. "Probably for good reason." The words are out before I can stop them, thinking about what Kasumi says made me blurt it out almost word for word. Garrus stares at me, then suddenly starts laughing.

"Yeah, they're not great. I was never into art much." That's a relief.

"What are you into, then?"

"Guns are the only art I appreciate." Wow, that's really violent…and really sad. We'll have to work on Garrus's cultural appreciation later, even if that culture is admittedly human stuff from 2000 to 2010. I wonder if you can get old Earth vids somewhere around here…Inception will be out by now! The one film I really, really want to see, and maybe Garrus will enjoy it. That's for later, though.

"You like music?"

Garrus shakes his head. God, the crimes against culture this man has committed! "Eh, suit yourself." My tummy rumbles. That reminds me, I haven't eaten since…well, yesterday. Crap, now I'm really hungry.

"You got any food? I'm starving."

"Nothing levo-amino." Ah, shit! He glances over at me. "You're living with a turian, you can't honestly expect me to have anything humans can eat!" he exclaims.

"Whatever," I say. "I can just order something in. You got the extranet in here?" Garrus gestures towards the terminal. "Thanks."

I search for human food places, and the results are surprisingly good. There's a few Chinese restaurants, a French place on the other side of the Citadel…wait, an Italian? I can barely believe my luck. Holy shit, they do take out? I rapidly fill out the order and send it off via the extranet. Apparently orders take about five minutes to arrive to most places in the Citadel. I love the future!

"Once you've had what you've ordered, we should get some rest," Garrus says seriously. "We've got an important day tomorrow, and I don't want to miss any clues because I'm tired." Ever the professional.

"Sure." He gets up and heads off to his room. "I'll see you in the morning."

"See you," I mutter absentmindedly as he walks off. I stare out of the window at the Citadel, spreading out before like a sea of lights and activity. It really is beautiful at night…space stretching out away from the station's gigantic arms. To think in two or so years this place is going to be under attack from the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known…it's harrowing. Suddenly, the doorbell goes off. Ah, that'll be my pizza arriving. Thinking about the Citadel's destruction can wait until I've eaten some quality Italian cuisine.

############

Well, Garrus sure as hell wasn't lying when he said the bed would be bigger than I'm used too. It takes up about half the damn room, and the mattress is as hard as rock. Turians don't seem like a species who appreciate fluffy pillows and super-soft mattresses though. A picture of some old, presumably important turian is mounted on the wall on the right hand side of the bed, and it's one of those incredibly creepy pictures where the eyes seem to follow you around the room. No wonder Garrus put it in the spare room rather than keeping it around for others to see, it's ugly as sin. Yeah, I'm definitely going to have to spruce this up a bit when I've got the spare time, and something tells me that Garrus probably won't mind too much, especially if it involves getting rid of that picture.

I glance at my omni-tool, and it's about 10:30pm. Ah crap, we need to be up about six for the interviews, I'd better get some sleep. I jump into the bed, unceremoniously cracking my spine of the mattress. Ow, that really hurts…this bed isn't going to do my body any favours. I look up at the ceiling, and think about elcors and murderers, the case rolling around in my mind, the elcor suddenly having Scott Shelby's head…as my thoughts grow more and more incoherent, I drift off into a restless sleep.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry this took a little while to write. Now that I'm holiday, personal things are taking up almost as much time as my previous school work, but I should still be updating every few days or so. Don't worry, I won't abandon you ;)**

**Thanks to everyone who's R&Rd so far, your positive reviews and feedback really motivate and encourage me, so thank you all.**

**Next chapter: Elcor! Interviews! Information! And the first investigation starts to draw to a close…**

**See you then!**


	11. Suspects and Suspicions

Chapter 11

**A/N: Apologies in advance for any minor spelling errors in this chapter if they exist, I'm having to rush it out somewhat without checking it much because of personal reasons.**

The visions are back. The Reaper's screaming and rage penetrating deep into my skull and brain, the images of Protheans burning into my eyes, DNA strands rotating hypnotically as visions flash past and the human figures rise and fall in battle. The strands rotate faster and faster, a flash from what looks like a Mass Relay fires, and the DNA atoms drift further and further apart…

"Ian, are you alright? Can you hear me!" I burst back into consciousness, jolting straight upright in the bed. Shit, where am I? What's going on? Garrus is standing next to the bed, mandibles widened in a look of huge concern. Oh yeah, I moved in with Garrus, didn't I. Just relax, it's a vision, it can't hurt you…much.

"I'm fine," I reply, clutching my head. Fuck, those visions really mess with your mind, and give you the mother of all headaches in the morning. "Just a bad dream…that's all."

"That's the worst dream I've ever seen someone have," Garrus says, sceptically. "You were having muscle spasms, and your face was all screwed up like you were in pain or something." Yeah, that sounds about right. I didn't know the visions were giving me external symptoms, though. "You sure there's nothing wrong?"

There's plenty wrong, but unfortunately nothing I can really tell you about. "I've been having trouble sleeping since I left Earth." That's technically true, I suppose. "Crap, I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Don't worry about it," he sighs, sounding relieved that I'm okay. "I don't sleep that much anyway. As a species, turians don't need that much rest."

"Yeah, well, humans do." I barely stifle a yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's just gone six. We need to set off for the office in about," he glances at his omni-tool, "ten minutes."

Wait, what? We have to go already? Right, I hate my job. I normally don't like to be up before eight o'clock, at the earliest!

"Is that a joke?" He shakes his head, grinning. "Fine. Give me a few minutes to get my stuff together. Any chance for some food?"

"Dextro-amino only." That's really getting on my nerves. It would be so much simpler if we all had the same DNA structure, but no, the universe loves diversity so fucking much. "Relax, we'll get something on the way to C-Sec."

We'd better, or I'm going to be a very sad panda. And a very hungry panda, for that matter. I wonder what you can get for breakfast around here, though if I can order pizza I'm sure I'll find something to my liking.

#################

Twenty minutes later, we're walking out of the levo-amino food store. Garrus is already clutching a similar looking burrito thing to what he had yesterday, and chugging a bottle of Tupari he'd brought from the apartment. Apparently, he loves the stuff, considering the only drinks I could find in the kitchen were some wine (best he can afford on a C-Sec salary, I imagine) and a shedload of sports drink. Each to their own, I went for coffee this morning since I'm absolutely shattered. I take a sip. Holy shit, that's really bitter…although a salarian made it, so it shouldn't be a huge surprise that he probably made it to salarian tastes. At least the roll I managed to get is pretty tasty, though bacon tastes a bit different to what I can remember, but I'm not complaining. It is food, after all.

"What's that you're eating?" Garrus asks, small smile on his face.

"Oh, just a bacon sandwich. You got them back on Palaven?"

"Sandwiches? Yeah, we've got something that looks similar to that." He throws a glance at my roll, then sniffs the air. "What did you say was in it?"

That's weird, I didn't have Garrus down as the forgetful type. "Bacon. Why, you like the smell?" Understandable if he does, considering dextro-amino stuff smells so good to me.

"No, I just think it smells more like varren than anything else." He sniffs again. "Yeah, that's definitely varren, not this bacon thing you were talking about. You sure you picked the right sandwich?"

I look pointedly at the packaging, and the word 'bacon' stares back from the label. Oh, that fucking salarian bastard! I've already eaten three quarters of the damn thing! I toss the roll into the nearest bin. Right, that's pissed me off. Garrus, on the other hand, is pissing himself laughing.

"Laugh it up, Garrus. You could have mentioned it before I ate most of the thing!"

"Just trying to broaden your horizons of food from different cultures. I hear it's a delicacy for krogan." Oh, that makes it okay then! "Besides, you seemed to be enjoying it. Didn't want to spoil your breakfast."

"Right, your intentions were completely noble. Of course."

"Like I said, you were enjoying it." He crosses his arms. "Why do you care so much that it was varren?"

Shit, that's an excellent point. In hindsight it was actually pretty tasty, though now I'm thinking about Urz, the varren you can have follow you around on Tuchanka, and I'm feeling a bit guilty… "That's not the point! The salarian lied to me!"

"True," Garrus replies with a shrug. "But you found some new food you enjoy. Isn't that worth it?"

Bloody hell, I hadn't expected this to turn into some philosophical discussion. "Yeah, I guess, but it doesn't make it right for the salarian to lie," I point out. "The ends don't justify the means."

"Not necessarily," Garrus says, in a way that can only be described as mysterious and a bit sinister. Of course, Garrus has always seemed to think the ends justify the means, displayed by his antics on Omega in a few years time. Let's hope Shepard can talk him round… "Well, let's go check if Pallin's been true to his word."

We've arrived at C-Sec. Garrus sure wasn't lying when he said he lived close to C-Sec, the walk's been about five minutes excluding my food stop. Oh yeah, Pallin was supposed to be assembling a squad for us. If he's lied and been playing us I'm not going to be happy, that's for sure…

##################

Okay, so Pallin didn't lie to us. We've got the six officers he sent in the Investigations office while Garrus and I talk them through the plan. There's four turian officers, and two human officers. I'm surprised Pallin ordered humans on something this important, maybe he's doing it to placate me? Eh, it's not important.

"We're going to split into four teams of two, and each team will interview a quarter of the suspect list. The detective and I have split the list into four groups of suspects that live near to each other, and you've each been assigned a group that I'm uploading to your omni-tools now." Everyone in the room checks their omni-tool, bathing the room in a dull orange light. "Anything to add, Ian?"

"Remember, this isn't an interrogation. Check alibis, see if they know anything, but no violence and now excessive force. Just talk to them politely and see what they know and where they were at the times of the killings. You got all that?"

All the officers nod. "Then what are we waiting for? Head out, and good luck."

Garrus waits until they've all left. "We should go too. You sorted the lists so we got the high priority suspects, right?"

"Yep." Yeah, Garrus and I decided it would be better if we took the suspects most likely to be the killer. There's no-one I trust more than him with this, and I think the feeling's mutual. "Get the cruiser. It's time we started to finish this."

##################

We've been through about seventeen of twenty-five suspects, and so far we've got nothing. All the elcor have had watertight alibis, which admittedly isn't a bad thing because it's narrowing it down. Unfortunately, it also means we haven't found our killer yet, and I'm starting to get a little bit concerned that we've either missed some vital clue or the real killer isn't on our list. Still, no choice but to press on. Who's next on the list…the apartment we're standing outside is huge, even bigger than Garrus's place which I thought would be hard. Then again, elcor probably need a lot of space to live, so it shouldn't come as too much of a shock. The guy's name is Caltan Xenvalis, according to the list he's a junior elcor ambassador, but he's been caught trying to use diplomatic privileges to smuggle tainted eezo in some scam. No major supplies, but enough to pick up C-Sec attention.

"Looks like the elcor pay their politicians well," Garrus says admiringly, eyeing up the apartment. "This probably cost more credits than we'll earn in our lifetimes."

"Is that a credit to how much he earns, or how little we get paid?"

He frowns, flaring his mandibles. "Both, I guess." He reaches for the button to buzz Caltan's apartment, and an elcor answers almost immediately.

"_State your business."_

Garrus takes the lead. "We're from C-Sec. My partner and I would like to ask Mr Xenvalis a few questions about a case…"

"_Annoyed: Mr Xenvalis is extremely busy and does not have time to answer petty questions."_

"We're investigation a serious murder case in Tayseri Ward, it would be extremely helpful if he could just spare five minutes of his time…"

"_Increasing frustration: Like I said, Mr Xenvalis is busy and has no legal obligation to answer your questions. Good day, officers." _The line dies, then suddenly flickers back on as a slightly different monotone speaks.

"_Apologetically: Excuse my secretary, officers." _Ah, this must be Caltan. Looks like our questions are going to be answered after all, though I'm sceptical to how good these answers are going to be. If elcor politicians are the same as the Council, there's going to be a lot of evasive wordplay, something we don't really have time for. _"Please, come in."_

I've got a _reallllly _bad feeling about this.

################

The interior matches my expectations. There's not much in it, but all the furniture (tables, desks, the like) are absolutely massive. Much like Caltan Xenvalis himself, who towers over me, and even Garrus has to take a few steps back to see the ambassador's face.

"Warmly: Welcome to my house, officers. Curiously: What can I do for you?"

Ah shit, talking to elcor was never going to easy or fun. That monotone is slowly starting to bore into my brain…if I talk maybe it'll put me off his voice. Yeah, that could work.

"We're inquiring into a murder case, sir. There's been a string of murders in Tayseri Ward and we've managed to determine an elcor is behind them, but we don't have a DNA match."

"Tersely: Are you trying to imply something, officer?"

Yes, I am, but I can't actually say that, can I? Screw it, I'll stop trying to be discreet.

"We're checking elcor with criminal records, and your name came up on the list. What my partner and I need to know is: where you were at the times of the murders?" He's not going to like that…but then political word-games were never exactly my forte.

"Furiously: How dare you insult a member of the elcor government with your questions. I have been in diplomatic meetings all week."

Garrus steps in, probably to try and be the voice of reason. "Can anyone confirm your presence at these meetings? And what were they about? We need to know as a matter of procedure," he says apologetically. It does nothing to placate Caltan, of course.

"Angry rebuke: My superiors do not have the time to waste with your questions, and the subjects of the meetings are highly classified. I suggest you and your partner leave now to avoid any further ambassador. How dare you try and suggest I am someway involved in murder and illegal activity."

Shit, this isn't going anywhere. Time to cut our losses and move on elsewhere. "Thank you for your time," I say, a little sarcastically, while backing out the door with Garrus following suit. "You've been very helpful."

"Irately: I will be reporting this to your superiors in C-Sec. An investigation into an elcor official? This is an outrage." That seems to be something of a favourite saying of politicians around here…

###############

"Like hell was that elcor ambassador in meetings all week," I say to Garrus, back in the Investigations office at C-Sec. The other elcor we interviewed turned up blanks, all of them had alibis as well, and the other teams say they've got some small leads to chase up. Pointless, because I'm almost certain Garrus and I have found our man.

The turian looks over, flaring his mandibles in surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"Think about it, Garrus. His secretary tells us to piss off initially, yet as soon as you mention Tayseri Ward and murders he's inviting us into his office. I mean, he wouldn't do that unless the case is of extreme personal interest to him in some way."

Garrus looks thoughtful. "Go on…"

Oh, you don't need to prompt me mate. "He's been in classified meetings all week, which we can't confirm his presence at and he won't disclose what they're about? And when we left he said something about us investigating murder and illegal activities. And I'm pretty damn sure I didn't mention illegal activity. I'll bet the only business he's been doing this week is the organ trade!"

"Look, it sounds plausible, but we can't bring him on that. It would be pathetic, even if he wasn't a pretty high up elcor official! We can't just go arresting ambassadors without something completely concrete, something that irrefutably proves him guilty!"

Already ahead of you, Garrus. "Then we follow him until he slips up. All the murders happen late on in the evening, and I bet if we tail him we can find out what he gets up to. Five hundred credits says it's not elcor government business."

He sighs, shaking his head. "No way. Pallin would never allow it, we're probably already in trouble for investigating him in the first place!"

"Who said we were going to tell Pallin?" I say with a smile. Come on, Garrus, I know you don't mind breaking the rules for justice!

His expression shows he's torn between staying at C-Sec and going on our little rogue mission… "What if it's not him? What if we get found out and it's all for nothing?" he finally asks, after a long silence.

"Come on, Garrus, we both know it's him! Don't you trust your partner?"

Another long silence. After what seems like an eternity, he looks at me, mandibles widened in a smile.

"I assume you've got some kind of plan, right?"

I grin back. "Don't I always?"

**A/N: It is on! Next chapter should be the confrontation between us and the elcor, and it shall be suitably epic…expect a chapter a little longer than usual.**

**Of course, that means it's going to take a little while to write, and I have no free time for a few days (family and friends, isn't real life a bitch?). So, I'll keep you in suspense with the next chapter update **

**Oh yeah, super special thanks to justsomebody2 this chapter, for inspiring me with the elcor interview section (I know I said I'd use your exact dialogue, but it didn't work out. I'M SORRY!) and for being this story's official fangirl. She's awesome.**

**Until next time…**


	12. Confrontations and Collateral Damage

Chapter 12

**A/N: Here we go. The showdown you've all been waiting for. Enjoy.**

So far, the stakeout is going to plan. Garrus and I 'borrowed' a C-Sec cruiser earlier tonight, loaded it up with enough food and drink to last (Garrus brought some more of his seemingly endless supply of Tupari sports drink, I stocked up on human snacks, checking the ingredients this time) and are sitting here waiting for Caltan Xenvalis to make his move. That is, if he makes a move. We've been sitting in the car for about an hour and a half now and all he's been doing is walking around his house, occasionally looking at his private terminal, but he definitely hasn't tried to kill anyone yet. What if I'm wrong? What if Caltan isn't actually the murderer? We'll be in a shitload of trouble with Pallin for our rogue investigation, that's for sure…the elcor government probably won't be best pleased either. Crap, I never really realised how high the stakes are here…

"What if we're wrong, Ian?" Garrus asks, sitting in the driver's seat, sniper rifle strapped to his back. Oh yeah, Garrus thought we should bring a bit more firepower for this, even though I've told him there shouldn't be any shooting. I reckon he was just looking for an excuse to bring a 'real weapon', to use his terms, but still it can't hurt to have it there just in case.

"You know, that's really helping my confidence," I snap back. "That hasn't been bothering me ever since we got here, or anything!"

He holds up his hands in mock surrender. "Just thinking out loud, Ian."

Damn, that wasn't like me… "Sorry, Garrus. There's a lot riding on this and I'm a little bit tense."

"It's alright," he nods. "Nerves are normal. Hell, I'd be concerned if you were taking this all in your stride!" That gets a bit of laughter from me, though to be honest it's born from nervousness more than the actual merit of what he said. Still, it beats sitting in silence. Garrus takes another swig of the bright orange Tupari.

"You might want to cut back on that, Garrus. I don't want you not being able to shoot straight because you're on a sugar rush."

"Sugar rush?" Garrus asks inquisitively. Turians probably don't have sugar, do they? And considering he's so damn big it'd take a lot to get him hyper…

"You know what, forget it. It's really not important." He shrugs and turns his attention back to the bottle. I suppose it could be a lot worse, he could be an alcoholic. Yeah, an addiction to brightly coloured soft drink is probably better than being hooked on alcohol. Just ask Scott Shelby's dad, or don't, considering he's probably passed out on a construction site somewhere. Now, last time I checked Caltan was in his office…and now he's moved. Shit, I'm not seeing any trace of him in the house!

"Fuck, Garrus, this is important!"

He jumps to attention. "What?"

"He's gone! We weren't looking for a few seconds and I can't see him in the house!"

Tupari sports drink now forgotten and ignored, Garrus scans the area frantically. Come on, we have not just lost our only lead… "There!" he shouts. "He's just leaving his front door now, we can still shadow him if we hurry!" He pops the doors of the cruiser open, and stealthily dashes off after Caltan.

Looks like the chase is on!

###########

It wasn't exactly hard for us to catch up with the elcor, considering his low top speed, but the initial dash after him was intense to say the least. We weren't quite sure where he'd gone after he left his apartment, leading to much dashing around from me and Garrus. All we needed was some Benny Hill music and the scene would have been set perfectly. In all seriousness, I'm glad I've stayed in good shape since I got onto the Citadel, the distance we've ran would have left most people I know gasping for breath. And that's ignoring the mad speed Garrus can run at. Though he does have the natural advantage, being seven foot tall and all that. We're tailing Caltan from pretty far back, because the Citadel's pretty much empty during its night cycle and if he sees us this'll have all been for nothing. I'm not losing him now, not when we're this close! He heads around a corner, but we follow close behind. I really hope he's going to see his black-market contact, or he's trying to murder someone, otherwise this is going to be a bit embarrassing if he's going for some late night grocery shopping. We round the corner…and the corridor splits in two. There's no sign of Caltan Xenvalis in either one.

"Shit!" I hiss. The one time he goes out of our sight... "I'll go left, stay in radio contact! If you find him, let me know and I'll catch you up!"

"Right, same goes for you," he says, before hurrying off. Right, I'm on my own now…it feels weird, not having Garrus with me to watch my back. Without him I suddenly feel really vulnerable…stop being paranoid, Ian! I dash down the corridor, which goes on for about two hundred metres, then slide to a halt as it leads into a large, open area. There's fuel tanks lined up next to a relatively small spaceship, crates scattered around the place…this looks like some kind of private docking and fuelling bay. And that ship has elcor markings on it!

"Oh my God…Garrus!" I say frantically into the radio, "he's trying to escape! I've found his ship, it's just being fuelled now…" I'm cut of mid-sentence by an enormous force crashing into my back and sending me flying a good ten metres across the room. Ah, that hurts like a bitch! I manage to convert the landing into some kind of clumsy roll, and dive behind a crate before another blast hits the exact spot I was literally a second ago. Shit, that was way too close… I don't think I've broken any bones, but I'm sure going to have plenty of bruises tomorrow…another blast makes me flinch. That's if I make it to tomorrow. What the hell is this guy shooting at me with? I cautiously stick my head out of cover, and what I see is worse than any gun, rocket launcher or conventional weapon.

"Menacingly: Human, have you ever faced an elcor biotic before? Few ever have!"

Fuck, I'm dead.

###############

So it turns out Caltan Xenvalis is a biotic. That bit of news would have been invaluable BEFORE I rushed straight into a one on one confrontation with the bastard! "Garrus, you might want to hurry it up a bit!"

"_Why? What's going on? What happened when you were talking before?"_

"One word, biotics!" I un-holster my pistol and start shooting frantically at Caltan, but the shots are just absorbed by his biotic barrier.

"_Are you shooting at him?"_ Garrus asks incredulously. "_We want to arrest him, not kill him!_" Another biotic blast rocks the docking bay, just as my pistol overheats.

"He's trying to kill me, and I don't think he's likely to come quietly if you turn up! But if you want to try putting the cuffs on him, be my fucking guest!" I shout back. Yet another bolt of blue energy collides with my cover, blowing the crate apart. Oh shit! Caltan follows it up with a warp, but I see it coming and dive out of the way, rolling properly this time before springing to my feet and dashing towards another crate, biotic carnage following me. Xenvalis is more powerful than an entire asari commando unit…he's absolutely relentless. Wait, he's walking incredibly close to those fuel canisters…and I don't think a biotic barrier is going to save him from that kind of explosion. I take aim and blast away at them, tensing in preparation for the explosion. The shots are deflected by the shields around the fuel tanks. Of course, they're not just going to leave them unprotected to explode, are they, you idiot! A biotic Throw from the ambassador knocks me off my train of thought, clipping my left shoulder and sending a huge shock of pain running through it. I spin to the floor, gritting my teeth in pain and dragging myself behind the nearest crate. Crap, I think it's dislocated…looks like I'll be shooting one-handed for now. Not that there's much point, considering I may as well be attacking him with a pop-gun for all the good my handgun is doing. I can't believe I'm going to die to an elcor, of all the races in the galaxy…if I was going to go out I'd have at least wanted it to be some dramatic death like a Thresher Maw getting me, not some elcor psychopath pumped up on biotics. He finally breaks through my cover, and I face him down. I'm on the floor, I've got nowhere to run, and nothing to damage him with, but I'll be damned if I'm going to die like a coward.

"Triumphantly: You did not truly think you could defeat me, human? I am a biotic god! The Doctor has paid me handsomely for the organs I have gathered, but he's always looking for more…"

Wait, the doctor…you mean Dr. Saeleon is involved in all this! "People know I'm here, Caltan, investigating you! You won't get away with this!"

He shakes his head, flaring his biotics, preparing for the death blow. "Scornfully: Forgive me if I don't take your word for it, _Detective._ An investigation into an elcor official without evidence would never have been allowed. You came here alone, and that's how you will die, the latest victim of the Tayseri Ward Butcher."

"Not a bad guess," I reply, smiling. "I didn't have permission for this. But I didn't come alone."

"Confused: What?" A sniper shot rings out, sending huge ripples along Caltan's barrier and sending him staggering backwards.

"Ian, run!" Garrus is sprinting into the room, priming the rifle for another shot. You don't need to tell me, Garrus! I haul myself up, ignoring the protest of my left arm, and head behind a significantly more solid crate. Caltan roars in a mix of pain and frustration, loosing off a stream of biotic energy that knocks Garrus into a stack of barrels.

"Garrus? You okay? Garrus!"

"_I'm going to feel that in the morning_," comes the flanging reply over the radio. Thank Christ! "_You got some kind of idea to get us out of this mess, I did I just come here to get slaughtered?_"

At least he's staying calm. "That depends on whether or not you mind causing some property damage, and you're prepared to run away very fast at short notice."

"_I'll take any plan right now!_" Good attitude.

"If we can lure him close to those fuel tanks by his ship, we can shoot them and even he shouldn't be able to withstand that. The problem is said fuel tanks have shields on them, and I can't hack them!"

"_So you want me to sit here and hack some shields, while we're being attacked by an extremely powerful biotic. Why do I always get the best parts in missions?_" This is really not the time for this…

"Can you do it?" I'm practically screaming down the mic.

"_Yes! Distract him for two minutes so I can hack them without being interrupted by a biotic blast to my face! The ladies like me as I am!_" Yeah, we'll see who's laughing when your face and a gunship missile get rather closely acquainted…

"Got it." I stand up and start firing at Caltan indiscriminately. "Over here, you dumb bastard!" He slowly starts moving towards me and away from Garrus, loosing of warps, throws and all manner of biotic abilities as he walks. Right, I just have to hold this position for as long as I can before I switch…it takes him about half a minute to get close enough to be a threat. Time to move! I break out across his line of sight, moving closer to the fuel tanks. He's evidently following me, due to the blue blasts following close on my heels. You'd think he'd work out to lead his target with the shots…a warp is aimed just in front of me, causing me to perform a slide underneath it behind the next set of cover. Aaghh, that hit the dislocated shoulder pretty bad…thank God the Citadel has such smooth floors or I'd have been a goner there.

"Hurry up, Garrus! I can't dodge him for ever!"

"_I'm almost done_," comes the muffled reply. "_Just give me a few more seconds…"_

Caltan has managed to close in on my position again, and I've got no more cover except for where Garrus is hiding. Looks like there's only one thing I can try… I run out of cover, making sure I pass directly next to the fuel tanks, before feigning a trip and falling to the floor. Caltan, naturally, takes the bait. Come on Garrus, hurry up…

"Mockingly: Foiled by clumsiness, detective. How embarrassing. It would appear that your partner has abandoned you, as well."

"_Done!" _Garrus's voice rings triumphantly in my ear.

I raise my pistol up, aiming to the tank next to Caltan's head. Of course, he thinks I'm aiming at him.

"Patronising tone: Drop the weapon, officer. We both know you can't hurt me."

"I beg to differ," I hiss through gritted teeth. Relax, hold my breath, aim down the sight. The fuel tank is squarely in it.

Fire.

It explodes in an enormous ball of fire, taking the other tanks surrounding it up as well. Caltan's barrier holds for a split second, before finally collapsing under the overwhelming force. The fire consumes his face, melting away his skin as he screams in his monotone voice…that's definitely going to be haunting my dreams for a while. I lift the pistol up, unable to bring myself to look at the wretched figure writhing around in front of me, and fire two shots straight into his head. He may be a murdering bastard, but I can't let him suffer like that. No-one deserves that kind of agony. Another explosion rocks the docking bay, as Caltan's ship also catches fire and starts to explode internally.

"_Unless you're after a cremation, Ian, I think we need to go. Now!_"

Garrus is standing by the exit, waving at me frantically. It all passes like a blur. I'm up, running and clutching my shoulder, sprinting along side by side with Garrus, stumbling, his talon reaching out and pulling me back to my feet, diving out of the tunnel as the ship explodes, huge tongue of flame ripping out of the tunnel before being drawn back in. Slowly, the adrenaline wears off, as Garrus and I lie side by side looking up into the simulated night, exhausted.

Oh shit, Garrus! "You alright?" I ask frantically, shakily climbing back onto my feet.

"Nothing a bit of medi-gel won't fix," he replies, grimacing. "Though my plates are going to be hurting for at least a month because of that. You?"

"Think I dislocated my shoulder, and I'm going to have so many bruises in the morning I'll look like a black guy. Nothing permanent though." We both look at the fire raging in the tunnel.

"We got him." Garrus mutters. "I can't believe it would be an elcor, never mind an ambassador for them…"

"I got the proof he was the murderer, as well. I recorded the sound from the fight on my omni-tool, and he admits to being the murderer just before you show up."

"That's a relief." He sighs. "You think we should call for back up now, or something?"

The sound of sirens fills the air. "I think that problem's taken care of itself." I say, with a tired grin. "I thought police work was supposed to be boring."

"You think that was bad?" Garrus grins back, mandibles flared. "The debrief with Pallin is going to be even more fun."

"Never a dull moment, eh?" He nods, and we stand in silence as the orange glow from the flames mingles with the blue lights of the rapidly approaching C-Sec cruisers.

**A/N: And so ends the first investigation. There's going to be an epilogue chapter, another short chapter after that where Garrus and Ian get to know each other better and we find out about Garrus's father issues, before the next investigation kicks off five months after the events in Tayseri Ward! And it will feature Dr. Chloe Michel for the first time! (The next investigation will also be a lot more action-packed, as opposed to the more methodical detective work of this. We're talking bar fight at one point :D)**

**Thanks for everyone who reads, reviews and supports this story, you're all great. **

**See you next chapter…**


	13. Evidence and Enemies

Chapter 13

"This might hurt," the medic says, with a comforting smile, as she grabs my dislocated shoulder. Wait, is she going to pop it back into place, now? Can I not at least get some medi-gel on it to lower the pain…she violently rams it back into place.

"Fuck me!" I shout, earning myself some strange looks from the other officers at the scene. "It might hurt? Was that your idea of a fucking joke?"

She's still smiling, in a rather irritating yet attractive manner. Her name's Rebecca, Rebecca Simons, and she's heading up the medical team that arrived on the scene a few minutes after the explosion. Nice shoulder length black hair, lean face, beautiful blue eyes, slim body, and she's been chatting having a nice chat with me for a few minutes, before suddenly deciding to cause me even more pain than I was already in… "Relax, it's better than having it hanging dislocated. You'll be fine in a few minutes. Besides, I think you've got bigger problems than a bit of shoulder pain. We've got orders to take you straight back to C-Sec and Executor Pallin once you've been treated. You must have done something to really piss him off."

"Yeah," I reply, gesturing at the still smoking tunnel. "I don't know how many credits worth of damage we ended up causing back there."

"It's got to be in the millions, right?" Garrus saunters over, mischievous glint in his blue eyes. "I mean, I'd almost be disappointed if it wasn't after all that. Blowing up a private docking bay and an elcor ship doesn't exactly come cheap."

"We've got the proof Caltan was the murderer. If everything goes to plan, we should be able to get the elcor government to waive the fees in some kind of apology," I sigh. Since when have we had anything go to plan?

"Well," Rebecca says, in a comforting tone, "I'm glad you managed to get him, anyway. We'll be able to walk around the Citadel feeling a bit safer at night now."

Somehow I doubt Pallin will see it the same way… "Nice to see some people approve." I give her a tired grin. "Though our boss probably won't have such a positive interpretation of it."

"I'll bet. Still, I'm supposed to bring you both in, even though I'm sure you'd rather go home or get as much alcohol in you as possible."

Garrus's eyes light up at the prospect of that. Too bad I don't drink. "Well, the sooner we get to C-Sec, the sooner we can get some rest." May as well try to look at as positively as I can. "You ready to go, Garrus?"

He flexes both his talons, rolls his neck around, then nods. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Ladies first, Rebecca." She gives me a disapproving look. Yeah, I probably deserved that. Now I feel really embarrassed…Garrus climbs into the cruiser after her, giving me a little smile.

"Very suave, Ian."

Fuck you, buddy!

* * *

"So, Rebecca, how'd you end up working for C-Sec?" She's driving, and normally I'd just talk to Garrus, but he's sprawled out on the back seat looking absolutely shattered, and I'd quite like to get to know the girl sitting across from me a bit better.

"I was always interested in the medical side of things, working to help people in danger though. Not going to some civilian hospital or something. I was intially planning to go with the Alliance, but C-Sec work seemed more appealing. Better hours, conditions, equipment, and dealing with the regular officers is a lot more interesting than working with some G.I. Joes pumped up on stims. At least you're doing something worthwhile here, helping people like you who're stopping serial killers, rather than helping in stupid fights like the First Contact War."

That raises an eyebrow from me. "You're not anti-alien?"

She shakes her head vigorously. "I don't see the point to it. Sure, I wouldn't hang around with a krogan, but if they're not trying to kill me I don't see any reason to hate them. I can't stand all the random xenophobia you find around here. You can't judge a book by it's cover, after all." Yeah, tell that to all the people who didn't buy Kingdom Hearts because it looked too 'childish'…missed out on one of the greatest RPG's of all time.

"Trust me, I'm not a xenophobe by any stretch of the imagination…"

She laughs out. "Yeah, no shit! I saw that interview you had with Al-Jilani, along with most of the Citadel, plus I got to find out what happened after the camera went off through C-Sec." Rebecca smiles, slyly. "I don't think anyone will be calling you out for racism!" Good, that's the impression I was going for.

"So, how did you end up on the force, Ian?" That's an excellent question…

"Well, it just sort of…happened, really." She gives me an odd look. "I was on the Citadel, looking for work, and it came up in the job search. The pay wasn't bad, and I wanted to be able to make some kind of positive contribution around here." That sounds just about believable. "Still, I didn't sign up for this kind of action…if I was told I'd be fighting for my life against a crazed biotic elcor in my first case, I probably wouldn't have signed up so quickly." Screw believable, that last point is downright true!

"And if you hadn't signed up, he'd probably still be out there, killing people. Some people are born to be a hero, Ian," she says softly, gently touching me on the arm. "Other people are forced to be one."

"Yeah, I know," I sigh. "It's like Garrus says, we chose to fight something bigger than just ourselves when we chose this job." I rub my aching shoulder, and give Rebecca a rueful smile. "Still, wish it didn't have to be me doing the fighting."

She grins back. "If you can survive what you managed back at the docking bay, I'm sure you'll be just fine." Yeah, here's hoping…I haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until Sovereign attacks the Citadel, then we'll have seen real danger… Something on the cruiser's dashboard flashes. "We're almost there," she says, grimacing. "I'd wish you luck, but you're going to need a hell of a lot more than that."

The cruiser touches down just outside the front doors to the lobby, jolting Garrus out of his snooze. "We here already?" he asks, yawning and stretching his mandibles out as wide as they can go. "I was hoping for a few more minutes rest before we get chewed out by Pallin."

"No time like the present, mate." He gives a little chuckle, and starts to clamber out of the cruiser. I follow suit, then turn to look at Rebecca, watching me with a somewhat absent-minded look on her face. Damn, she's even more beautiful in this light…and I should probably have some free time after Garrus and I have been debriefed…ah, why the hell not?

I go back to the cruiser and lean my head through the window. "If we make it out of there," I gesture at Pallin's office, "I'd love to go out for drinks or something with you, get to talk some more…if you'd like that, of course." God, I'm getting really nervous now…this was such a bad idea. Shit, I should just cut my losses and run for the hills.

"Sure," she says, with a dazzling smile. "I'd like that too. Give me a call when you've got the time." Such a stupid idea…wait, did she just say yes?

"Oh…great!" I really wasn't expecting that. "I'll see you, later, I guess?"

Rebecca laughs again, a beautiful note cutting through the sterilised air of the Citadel. "Take care, detective." The cruiser pulls away, and speed of into the distance, leaving me standing there, wind blowing in my hair as she disappears into the distance. What a girl…

Garrus taps me on the shoulder, shocking me out of my daze. "As heartwarming as that was," he says, tone gently mocking me, "we've got some serious business to deal with first. Think you can hold off on the romance until then? Somehow I don't think Pallin'll appreciate it."

Good point. Well, this should certainly be a lot of fun. If only I was a Spectre, then I'd be allowed to blow shit up without any repercussions at all! I can't start working with Shepard soon enough…

"Avoid romantic sentiment with the Executor. Yeah, I think I've got that. Come on, let's get this over and done with."

* * *

So, Pallin's office. Oh boy, this is going to be horrible. Garrus and I are both standing outside, but neither of us really wants to be the one to go in first. Ah, fuck it, it's only Pallin. What's the worst he can really do? I tap on the door console, and it springs open. What greets my eyes almost paralyses me with shock.

Pallin is sitting behind his desk. And standing next to him is Saren Arterius.

My hand goes for my pistol slowly and instinctively, but it's not there. Shit, I left it behind at reception! It's not like I can kill him with my bare hands, he'd probably rip me to pieces…Garrus and Pallin would try to stop me as well. I'm facing down the person who'll be the arch-enemy of me, Garrus and the entire fucking galaxy in a few years, and I can do literally nothing to harm him. He's standing right there, the opportunity to stop all the suffering he'll bring, and I can't do anything!

"Saren…" I whisper, the hate evident in my voice to anyone who could have heard it. Fortunately, nobody does.

"Here are the detectives I was telling you about, Saren." Pallin mutters, shooting Garrus and I a furious glare. "The one's who decided to blow up the elcor ambassador, and his ship!"

"No surprises with a human, Executor. Always rushing into conflict," Saren drawls. You arrogant bastard… "He even managed to talk a turian officer into it too. How a human ends up in one of the most important jobs in C-Sec is completely beyond me. It's not like they've contributed to the galaxy anywhere else."

Garrus bristles at the Spectre insulting me, but I decide to talk before Garrus can say anything. "I don't know about not contributing anything, sir." I fix him with a strong glare. "Our colony, Eden Prime, that's a real jewel in the galaxy, wouldn't you agree?"

"Ah, so the human has spirit." He looks at me with those eyes, evil swirling around in the irises. "You should keep your pets on a tighter leash, Executor. I don't like be answered back to."

"And I don't like xenophobes, _sir._ Even Council appointed ones." I'm really starting to lose my inhibitions here. Like hell am I going to be intimidated by this bastard, not when I know what's he got planned!

He shakes his head, chuckling to himself. "Such a temper. Again, what you expect from humanity. I'll leave them to you, Executor." He looks at me. "I've got real work to do." Like what, going on a team building exercise with Sovereign and the Geth? Saren strides out the door, leaving myself, Garrus and Pallin in complete silence.

"Well, he was nice," Garrus finally mutters, breaking the ice.

"You two are in no position to be making jokes!" Pallin shouts. "Do you know how much damage you did? Over one and a half million credits worth to elcor government property!"

Garrus nudges me on the shoulder. "I told you," he whispers. I try not to laugh, but a small gasp manages to escape my lips. Pallin's attention whirls onto me.

"You think this is funny, Ian? I've got a Spectre telling me to get rid of you right now! The elcor government is banging down my door looking for an explanation!"

"Then perhaps you should tell them not to hire serial killers if they want to keep their assets!" I answer back, a little tetchily.

"You say that, yet we've got literally no evidence to back you up! I don't believe for a minute you went after that ambassador with the intention of blowing him to kingdom come, but you had nothing on him! Are you insane, or just really stupid?"

Garrus pops open his omni-tool and replays the vital bit of recording we got from the fight. "_Triumphantly: You did not truly think you could defeat me, human? I am a biotic god! The Doctor has paid me handsomely for the organs I have gathered, but he's always looking for more…_" Pallin's mouth and mandibles open wide in shock.

"Oh, there's more," Garrus grins.

"_You came here alone, and that's how you will die, the latest victim of the Tayseri Ward Butcher._"

"Run the voice check." I say. "That's Caltan Xenvalis. He tried to kill me and my partner, and he admitted to the killings in Tayseri Ward. The only way we could get through his biotics was through some kind of explosion. The elcor government want compensation? Tell them if they want to avoid a scandal like they've never known before, they'll deal with the fees themselves."

Pallin looks absolutely flabbergasted. "You swear this is Caltan Xenvalis talking?" He finally manages to whisper.

"Run the voice check." I repeat. "That good enough evidence for you?"

He just sits there, running over all the new information in his mind, before raising his head and looking at both me and Garrus. "If what you're saying is true…then you may have saved the Citadel quite a few lives." Oh, yes! He finally comes around! "Both of you go home, don't come into the office until I send for you and this mess has been sorted out. I've got some voice checks to run, and a few calls to make to the elcor embassy."

"Pallin…thank you."

He points to the door. "You both need to get out, now. You're still technically on a forced leave pending a full investigation, and I can't exactly say I approve of how you handled all this." A little smile slips onto his face. "Though I expect said investigation may well turn out in your favour."

Garrus opens his mouth to say something, put Pallin holds up his talon. "Just leave, detectives. You'll be hearing from me soon."

We both hurry out without wanting to put Pallin's patience under any more stress.

* * *

Garrus and I both lean our heads against the wall, and let out a synchronised sigh of relief. That meeting was somewhat…unbelievable. Not only, by some miracle, did we manage to convince Pallin to our point of view, but I actually met Saren Arterius without him shooting at me. That's certainly unique…I imagine our next encounter won't be so cordial. Though considering the amount of hostility and awkwardness in our conversation, shooting at each other will probably break the ice a hell of a lot better.

"I don't know about you," Garrus says, rolling his head over to look at me, "but I could really do with a drink about now. I think Flux is still open, unless you'd just rather go home."

I look at the turian leaning next me, the man who saved my life against Caltan Xenvalis, my flatmate, best friend and one person I can really trust in this galaxy. May as well add drinking buddy to the list, even if I won't be touching the alcohol. Of course I want to go for a drink with Garrus fucking Vakarian!

"I think a drink would be nice, too. Besides, we've got a lot to talk about."

"That we do." He grins. "You going to tell me about your feeling on aliens?"

"You going to tell me about your father?"

He laughs. "I think we're going to need more than one drink."

Amen to that.

**A/N: Holy shit, Saren? Yeah, he won't be popping up again, at least not until we get into Mass Effect 1 events, but it was cool to write him in. And now there's a romance with Ian and Rebecca as well! Exciting times! **

**So next chapter should be pretty damn short, focusing more on Garrus's back story, but then it's back to business as usual! The next case is set five months after this, so there'll be a recap of what happens in the months between at the start of Chapter 15.**

**See you then! **


	14. Drinks, Stories, Films and Mysteries

Chapter 14

"What's your poison?" the grizzled turian behind the bar asks me and Garrus. "We do a great mixer of Palaven's finest." He looks me up and down. "You might want to miss that one, buddy." You don't say. "Do plenty of human stuff too, though. Asari drinks, hell, I've got some krogan ale if you're feeling _really _brave." Yeah, I might give that one a miss as well…I don't drink anyway, so starting off on real krogan alcohol will probably blind me, and that's being optimistic.

"No thanks." I reply with a smile. It's a long shot but… "You got any Coke?" I get an odd look for my troubles.

"We've got it…you want some vodka or something with that?" They still make Coke? I suppose that shouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering it's been Earth's most consumed soft drink for God knows how long. I'm more surprised that the turian knows what to mix it with, he really knows his stuff!

"No, I don't drink alcohol."

He stares at me, jaw hung open slightly in disbelief. "You came to Flux and you don't want to get drunk?" I shake my head. "You humans are weird," he laughs, "we've got all the drinks in the galaxy and you don't want to try even one?" Shake my head again…damn, he's persistent!

"Suit yourself." He pulls my Coke into what looks like a futuristic pint glass, and turns to Garrus. "I've never met a turian who doesn't like his drink."

Garrus grins wide. "I'm no exception. That mixer you've got sounds…interesting."

"Sure thing." He heads to the back of the bar and grabs various multi-coloured bottles. "A few of these'll knock you right on your ass, so don't blame me when you wake up in the morning with a raging hangover. That's the price of happiness, I'm afraid!" Heh, I really like this guy. Turns out not all turians are as uptight as Pallin and Saren, but then again Saren is one of a kind…

The bartender slides Garrus's glass over to him, who catches it deftly in one talon and downs it all in one go. Well, that was certainly impressive. He holds up his talon to the bartender, signalling for another. As much fun as watching Garrus gradually get drunk is, there's still stuff I want to talk about before he becomes completely incoherent, and I imagine he will as well.

"So, how long do you reckon we'll be out of action for?"

He shrugs. "Depends on how long C-Sec takes to investigate what happened. I don't think more than a week or so, besides, it'll be nice to actually get some leave for once."

"Yeah, with the threat of disciplinary action hanging over our heads."

"Oh, relax," he scoffs. "Pallin pretty much said point-blank we'll be fine. It's not like we did anything wrong, our methods were just a bit…unorthodox."

"That's one way of putting it. Still, at least we stopped him before he killed anyone else." I take a sip of Coke. Wow, future Coke tastes a hell of a lot better than I remember it being before…though with all the ingredients available throughout the galaxy compared to what they had back on Earth in 2010, that probably shouldn't come as too much of a shock.

"You're the ones who stopped that serial killer?" The bartender is looking at us with a mixture of shock and awe. Must have overheard enough of our conversation to guess.

"That's us." I reply, trying to cool. It seems to work.

"By the spirits! You two made the Citadel safe to walk at night!" Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration… "Drinks are on the house! It's the least I can do." On the other hand, maybe it isn't. That's going to save me a few credits, the rate Garrus is chugging down those mixers.

"Thanks, mate," I give him a friendly grin. He nods and heads over to the other side the bar to serve some salarian.

"I didn't think you'd mind some time off," Garrus says, smirking, continuing on our previous conversation as if nothing had happened. "Plenty of time to see that Rebecca person you met before." Oh God, Rebecca! In all the excitement of meeting Saren and trying to keep my job I'd almost forgotten about calling her…and I'm still not sure I should. What about when Garrus and I leave for the Normandy? What about Tali? What if the relationship doesn't work out?

"You do want to see her, right?" Garrus asks, a little bemused.

"I do…but I'm not sure. I mean, what if it just doesn't work for us?"

"I doubt that. I saw how she looked at you on the ride to C-Sec, and I don't think human signals of interest are too different from turians in that respect."

"I dunno, Garrus…"

"Look," he says, shrugging. "Some relationships work out, some don't. You and Rebecca are both old enough to know that. But you'll never know if you don't at least try at it, and she likes you, Ian. The only question you need to ask yourself is, is the feeling mutual?"

He's got an excellent point. Rebecca is one of the best things to happen to me in this universe so far, she's smart, funny, pretty damn beautiful…and apparently interested in me. Why the hell wouldn't I want to see more of her?

"Yes. I hate to say it, but you're right, you bastard."

He laughs, and has the rest of his mixer. That's two in about as many minutes…thank God the bar's picking up the tab. "I can't help it, being born so intelligent. And handsome. And charming."

Cocky bugger…"Really? With those kind of qualities, you'd think lady turians would be all over you."

"Prefer the single life. No-one holding me back." Yeah, right. We'll see what Commander Shepard has to say about that. Well, we've exhausted this topic. I still want to hear what Garrus has to say about his father...

"You said you were going to tell me about your father some time?"

He shakes his head. "Only after you told me about your attitude to aliens. We had a deal, remember?" Ah, shit!

"Fine. What do you want to know, exactly?"

"Why you're so casual around everyone. We're already getting weird looks from around the place just sitting here talking." I glance around, and a few humans sitting around Flux are indeed giving us some rather odd looks. "Why don't you seem to mind?"

Saying 'I've seen you all before in a video game series' probably isn't going to cut it as an answer. "I don't just judge people on outside appearance. Just because someone is turian, quarian, whatever, doesn't mean they're not a good person. I care about personality, rather than appearance. You're turian, yet you're a better person than a lot of humans I know. Just because a quarian has been labelled as some kind of vagrant doesn't mean they're not a good person if you got to know them. I guess the simple reason is I'm able to see past what species someone is, or what stereotype their species has, and see who they really are. God, that must sound really vague, or weird…"

Garrus looks pretty thoughtful. "No," he says, slowly. "It's good. If we had more people in this galaxy thinking what you're thinking, it'd be a much happier place. Still, don't you think it's a bit naïve when you're talking about a species like the krogan? You wouldn't go out with on of them, right?"

"They're not all bloodthirsty savages," I point out. Just most of them. "If they were a nice person, I really wouldn't care that they were krogan." Although that point is kind of moot, considering most krogan wouldn't be seen dead with a human, let alone a turian.

"So, inter-species couples that aren't asari? You don't think that's weird?"

Ah, we're straying into rather dangerous territory here… "No. If two people love each other, they should be together no matter what species they are. I mean, I wouldn't actively go looking for one, but if I met the right, I don't know, quarian, I also wouldn't say no."

He looks amazed. Probably shouldn't have gone into that much detail…

"That's, erm, very open-minded. A good point, as well." He looks really thoughtful now…hopefully when he meets Shepard that open-mindedness will pay off for him. Still, better try and stop this conversation before it gets way too out of control.

"So, you going to tell me about your father now? I believe I've fulfilled my side of the bargain."

"That you have," he chuckles. "Fine. I was born on Palaven, as an only child. No brothers, no sisters. I don't remember much of my early childhood, but I've seen the pictures. It looked…nice. But it all started going wrong when I turned seven. My mother contracted a rare form of…I suppose the human equivalent would be cancer. It ate away at her for five months before she had to be moved to a hospital, full time. The doctor's were outwardly optimistic, but she knew she was going to die there. We all knew it." Oh my God, I didn't realise it was this serious a story! Garrus is starting to look a bit upset…

"You don't have to tell me this if you don't want to, Garrus."

"It's fine," he insists. "It's actually nice to be able to talk about it. We all took it hard when she did eventually pass away, our friends, grandparents, I remember not wanting to see anyone for about a week. But no-one reacted as badly as my father. When she died, it was like a part of him went with her. We moved to the Citadel a month after it happened, he didn't want to stay on Palaven, in our house. It reminded him too much of her. He took a position at C-Sec, and threw himself into his work. I went to school while he worked, but he wasn't home often when I got back." He laughs bitterly. "Comes with the job. He went up through the ranks quickly, but he became increasingly controlling of me, what I did, where I went. I was the only part of his family left, and he didn't want to lose me. So while other kids went out, had fun, I stayed home watching vids and studying. Then, it was off to military training when I was fifteen. Two years mandatory service, every turian does it. The military was the best thing that happened to me, the sense of freedom, the knowledge I was doing something useful, something I enjoyed! I even got nominated for the Spectres, though admittedly so did about ten thousand other recruits." I know where the story goes from here…

"He didn't let you try it, did he?" I ask, knowing full well what the answer will be. "He wanted you home, safe, where he could see you."

He nods. "Got that right. He doesn't like the Spectres anyway, thinks one person with that much power is too dangerous to be sustainable. So I finished my military service with honours, then was whisked back to the Citadel by my father almost as soon as I left the ship I was posted on, into the Investigation job he had ready and waiting for me, along with the apartment." He sighs. "And here I am. I know I'm making it sound like I hate him, I don't, we had good times together even after my mother died. But the control…I just don't like it."

"So you'd rather be a soldier?" Because it's going to happen…

"I'm not sure," he frowns. "I know I'm still making a difference here, and my father's happy, but all the bureaucratic crap we have to put up with limits me more than I'd like."

"Generally, it's there for a reason. Besides, we managed to stop a serial killer today, I'd say that's better than some military patrol."

"I know, I just don't like it, that's all." He looks up at me. "Sorry, I must be boring you with all this…"

"No, I…" I was about to say 'I enjoyed it', but that's just grossly inappropriate. "It was good for you talk about it. I never realised how deep it all was…" Yeah, ain't that the truth. Garrus still looks a bit upset…oh, I know what might cheer him up!

"You ever seen any human films?" The look of sadness is replaced with confusion.

"No. Why?"

"Well, we've got time to kill, and you look like you could do with some entertainment." He laughs, properly this time, and starts another drink.

"I guess I could. What do you have in mind?"

* * *

"That…was…amazing." Garrus says, eyes wide open and dumb grin slapped on his face.

I knew _Inception_ was supposed to be good, but that exceeded all my expectations. Holy crap, that blew my mind. And from the looks of things, Garrus's as well.

"So, the whole thing was just a massive dream within a dream?" he asks excitedly.

"Yeah, most of it. What an ending though…you think the spinning top was falling?"

"I don't know." He's still grinning. "Humanity sure makes good vids…most turian stuff is just war films, that sort of thing. That actually made me think."

I glance at my omni-tool clock. Jesus, it's getting late, and I suddenly realise just how tired I am.

"I'm going to call it a night," Garrus yawns. "That bartender wasn't lying when he said those mixers knock you on your ass…"

"See you in the morning, mate," I laugh. "Have fun with your hangover."

"Fuck you," comes the irritable reply, as Garrus stumbles down the corridor to his room. I guess I'd better start getting ready too…suddenly, my omni-tool starts beeping. What the hell? I flick it open. Oh, I have a new message…that's weird, only Garrus and Pallin know how to contact me…

_Ian_

_Good to see you're settling into C-Sec nicely. I wasn't sure it would work out when I put in your application, but you've exceeded my expectations._

What the fuck? Who the hell sent this? Is someone watching me?

_You may have been chosen to come to this universe by chance, but everything happens for a reason. The fate of the galaxy may well hang upon you and your allies in the future. Those visions you've been having, they hold the key to everything…the answers you're looking for. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, what you need to do, who you are, but fate can only work when her hand isn't noticed. If you were to know what lies ahead, you may try to change the future, and everything may be lost._

Wait, this person knows who I really am? What the hell do they mean by fate of the galaxy, who I really am? I need straight answers, not bloody prophetic visions!

_Stay strong, Ian. Not just for your sake._

_The one you know as Bloody Mary._

Don't freak out.

**A/N: Bet you weren't expecting **_**that!**_

**Quite a big twist to end the chapter on, and the message may seem pretty vague and confusing. That's because it is. You wouldn't want to me to spoil all the plot straight away, would you? Suffice to say Ian didn't come to the Mass Effect world for no reason…**

**So, now you know about Garrus's backstory as well. Next chapter will be back to business as usual: A new case for Ian and Garrus! More Rebecca (yay)! More Pallin (boo)!**

**Until then…**

**(On a less epic note, this story now accepts anonymous reviews. In fact, it has for the past God knows how many chapters; I've just forgotten to mention it until now.)**


	15. Red Sand and Recaps

Chapter 15

It's been five months since Bloody Mary sent me that message. Five months of confusion, of searching for answers, of finding nothing. I'm going to have to accept her word, and just continue as normal, not trying to change fate. The visions have stayed, as well. They're less frequent, but just as intense, and they're still meaningless to me. They're supposed to hold my answers, but the more I think about them the more confused I get. It's not all been bad, though. My life outside of visions and universe-jumping asari has been going pretty damn well. The C-Sec inquiry into the Tayseri Ward Butcher case turned out in our favour, just like Pallin predicted. Our actions were put down to self-defence, and the elcor government reluctantly agreed to sort out their own costs to avoid any kind of scandal or embarrassment. The Council also, because of the vital role a human played in the case, decided to add a few more humans to the investigation department, which was actually pretty nice, especially for them. Pallin even seem to welcome them, offered to switch my partner to a human! Of course, I turned him down. I've already got the best partner in the whole damn galaxy.

Garrus and I were reinstated to our posts about a fortnight after the C-Sec inquiry began, but nothing particularly serious has come up so far. We did a weapons bust about two months ago, but it was small time, some salarians trying to supply a merc group. In my opinion, the best thing that's happened was charging Al-Jilani. C-Sec can deliver a maximum fine of ten thousand credits for obstructing a murder investigation, and I thought that was a fitting punishment for her. My weapons and tech proficiency has also increased hugely, mainly due to Garrus and I going down to the shooting range every other day. My initial failure with the sniper rifle the first time I tried it was quickly corrected by Garrus '1337' Vakarian, so now I'm a more than adequate shot with that. Plus my tech skills have increased to a significantly more powerful Overload, hacking skills, even a fairly basic Incinerate! So now I'm actually going to be quite useful in a fight, rather than just relying on luck and improvisation.

Mind you, I don't need much more excitement after the elcor affair, since now I'm romantically involved. That's right, Rebecca and I are an item now. I called her the day after Garrus and I went to Flux, and we met up in the Presidium. Most relaxing day I've had since I got onto the Citadel…we talked, mostly about work and galactic politics (Rebecca doesn't like the lack of human influence in the Council, she'll be in for a surprise in a year and a bit), then we went out for dinner in some fancy place run by salarians. Things sort of took their own course from there…let's just say we've had plenty of opportunities to test reach and flexibility. We're still seeing each other pretty much every day, but work timings and commitments mean it's not as often as we'd like. But we get by, and both of us are happy with how it's going.

I'm still living in Garrus's apartment, though I finally managed to sort my room out to my personal taste. There's a human bed, and I got a really nice picture of me and Rebecca by the Presidium to hang up as opposed to the horrendously creepy turian portrait that used to reside in my room. The friendship between Garrus and I is even better than before. I managed to get him into human vids and such, he repaid the favour with some turian vids, which are possibly the most violent things I have ever seen. We all go out for drinks most weeks, me, Garrus and Rebecca, the little triumvirate we have. Life is good, but the message I received all that time ago still plays on the back of my mind, as does having to keep up this cover to Garrus and Rebecca. But the only way I'm going to find answers is by pushing forward, going where fate takes me, and not giving up. Mary said the entire galaxy could be depending on me, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let them down.

The date is August 26th, 2181. Shepard arrives in 2183. I need to fight for one and a half more years, fight to stay alive, fight to join her against the Reapers, and fight for the answers I so desperately need.

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I open a bleary eye to the omni-tool giving off it's incessant beeping next to my head. Garrus's is doing the same thing from across the hall, the sound muffled slightly through the walls. If we're both getting a message at the same time, it probably means Pallin wants us in the office, right now. The one time I'm actually getting some real rest without the visions keeping me awake, and Pallin wants to ruin it by calling us in. Still, he probably wouldn't do it unless it's important, though with that bastard I'll never be sure…

"Garrus! You up, mate? Pallin wants us at C-Sec now!" I shout. A little groan comes through the wall. Guess he's up, then.

"Give me a minute," the flanging voice, mumbles. "When the bartender at Flux offers me his 'experimental drinks', you really need to stop him next time."

"You weren't complaining last night," I point out.

"That's because I wasn't hungover last night," comes the irritable reply. "Go and get ready while I try to stand up."

"Right," I reply, smiling to myself. Poor Garrus, said 'experimental drink' was more than 50% alcohol, as the bartender admitted when Garrus had passed out. That was a fun taxi ride home… Grabbing my handgun and holster on the way out of my room, I head down the corridor to the kitchen and raid the cupboards for whatever levo-amino food I can find. There's some bread, a bit of cheese, an asari-made soft drink I found which tastes oddly like mangoes and oranges…looks like that's my breakfast. Normally Garrus and I eat pretty well, he seems to be a pretty good dextro-amino cook and I can manage to rustle up a few nice dishes for myself, but I've been meeting Rebecca for dinner quite a lot at the moment and haven't bought much food recently. Cheese sandwiches it is, then. There's a crash from down the corridor as Garrus finally falls out of his door and stumbles towards the fridge, presumably to grab his personal hangover cure, Tupari sports drink. I'm pretty sure it's not scientifically proven to help…but that doesn't seem to stop him.

"Did Pallin say what it was about?" he asks, in between sips.

"No, just told us to get in to the office as soon as possible. That usually means it's serious."

He nods, while taking his food out of another cupboard and starting to cram it down his throat. "He's not exactly big on wasting time," Garrus admits.

"That's an understatement." He chuckles a little bit when I say that, then starts coughing when it causes him to choke on his food.

"We better get going then," he finally manages to splutter. "You can eat on the way, right?"

* * *

We stroll into C-Sec at about half seven, and Morgan Patterson at the front desk waves me over as soon as we walk through the doors. He's been really happy since the new human investigators arrived, and he's taken a shine to me for causing it to happen. Still, he's not usually this eager to see me…

"Morning, Morgan," I say. Garrus gives him a friendly nod.

"Pallin wants to see you two, right now! He's been pacing around Investigation for like an hour now, and if you don't talk to him soon I think he's going to kill one of the new guys or something, just to sort out his frustration!"

Wow, I didn't realise it was so urgent. Looks like this really is going to be big…

"You know what all this is about?"

"Pallin'll tell you. Come on, go and talk to him already!" Morgan replies frantically. Right you are, then.

We jog into Investigation just as Pallin blows his top. "Where the _fuck _are Ian and Vakarian? I don't have the patience for this kind of…"

Garrus clears his throat loudly, and Pallin swivels around. "There you are! What the hell took you so long!"

"Got caught in traffic." I say quickly. I want to see what we're supposed to be dealing with, not get caught in some stupid argument with Pallin. "What's the situation? If you're this happy to see us, I'm guessing it's something big, right?"

"Big? That doesn't even begin to cut it! Both of you, in my office, now!" He storms of towards it. Well, this _is _intriguing. We both follow him in as the doors slide shut behind us. If those things weren't hydraulic, Pallin probably would have slammed them closed the mood he's in.

"We've got five people dead in the Wards." Five people? Holy shit, another serial killer? I'm not sure I want to go through all that again…

"With respect, sir," Garrus butts in, "shouldn't the murder squad be on this?"

"It's not murder." Eh? You might need to explain that a bit better, Pallin… "Five people overdosed on red sand. Their houses and apartments have already been checked, and they were all using the same type of it, something new, something we've never seen before. Probably bought from the same dealer, but this stuff is way more dangerous than normal red sand. The 'safe' amount of normal red sand, how much you can have before it becomes lethal, is about five or so grams. This stuff, two grams could kill you. Something they don't seem to mention in the advertising."

"Wait," I interrupt. "So people just take the normal amount of it because they don't know any better, overdose, then end up dead?"

"That's about the long and short of it," Pallin frowns. "Someone's been supplying this stuff to the dealers, very recently. What you two need to do is find out where all this is coming from, and put a stop to it." Ah, you make it sound so simple! Something about this seems a bit off, though…

"Why would the dealers sell something that was going to kill the customer? I mean, they rely on repeat customers, so if the customer dies it's bad for business, right?" Pallin and Garrus look interested.

"Go on…"

"My guess is the dealers don't know this new red sand is so powerful. We're probably looking at a merc group bringing this stuff onto the Citadel, right?" Pallin nods. "I'd be surprised if the smugglers know, either. The only person who really knows how dangerous this new red sand is, is the supplier, the person who produced it in the first place. We're not looking at a simple miscalculation on the part of the dealer, or the user. This sounds like genocide, someone systematically targeting the junkies of the Citadel. We want to stop this? We need to trace it all the way back to the source."

Pallin shakes his head. "It's a nice idea, but a little contrived, don't you think?"

Erm…no, otherwise I wouldn't have said it. Why is he so close-minded? It's so frustrating!

"I don't know, sir." Garrus finally speaks up. "That makes quite a lot of sense."

"Look, I don't care why it's happening, I just want it stopped!" Pallin shouts, finally losing his temper. "We can work out why this has happened after we've stopped it, you understand?" Shit, that's us told. Looks like Pallin's back to being his usual, helpful self!

"Have we got any leads?" I ask, calmly. Best not to exacerbate things by shouting back.

"Most of the dead came to a med clinic in the Wards before they died. Run by a Dr. Chloe Michel." Dr. Michel? Holy crap, that's awesome! And I guess it explains how Garrus gets to know her before Shepard meets him in ME1...I just hope I can understand her ridiculously thick accent without subtitles helping. "You should check there first, see what she's got to tell you about it. A medical opinion might be useful." Pallin continues, rage subsided somewhat. "You'd best head off now, I've got a cruiser ready for you outside."

Looks like we have our orders, then. I'm sure Garrus never mentioned this happening in the game…which is a shame, because I've got no kind of prior warning to what to expect here. Looks like we're going to have to do some real detective work from scratch this time, rather than me knowing about the suspect before we've even begun.

"I don't need to tell you how important it is this investigation has a swift conclusion," Pallin calls out as we head out of the office. Perfect, as if we didn't need any more pressure! "The last thing we need is a mountain of dead junkies all over the Citadel!"

"No shit, Sherlock," I mutter on our way out.

* * *

So, Dr. Michel. That's a turn up for the books, but I guess it makes sense that we'd be meeting her eventually. Still, I never imagined it would be while trying to stop potential genocide. I don't care what Pallin says, I'm almost certain my theory's right.

"So, what's your first impression, Garrus?" Hopefully he's going to agree with me…

"I think you made some good points in there, if that's what you're asking." Damn, he saw right through what I was looking for. That's pretty impressive, mind you. He may not enjoy the detective work, but that doesn't mean he's not good at it. "But it's too early to jump to those kinds of conclusions. Though I admit, it is plausible. The dealers won't want to kill their customers, that's for sure. It's almost certainly going to go deeper than the dealer." Well, that's probably as good as I'm going to get out of Garrus. At least he doesn't agree with Pallin, that'd be an absolute nightmare.

He gets into the driving seat and fires up the cruiser, lights spreading across the dashboard. I check I've got everything I need, pistol, omni-tool, misguided sense of optimism. Perfect!

"Ready to go?" Garrus asks, a little impatiently.

"Sure," I smile. "What's the worst that can happen?"

**A/N: Finally, the new case is here! A lot happens in five months…I hope the recap was suitably concise.**

**Next chapter should signal the appearance of Dr. Michel! (Albeit as a relatively minor character). Oh yeah, this is also my first completely original/off canon case (and probably the only one, considering the others are and will be based off stuff Garrus actually mentions happening during his time at C-Sec) so exciting times there as well.**

**Well, thanks for reading. And reviewing! Reviewing is very nice indeed.**

**See you next chapter… **


	16. Health Clinics and High Stakes

Chapter 16

"Well, here it is," Garrus announces.

Yeah, this is Dr. Michel's med-clinic, alright. The exterior is completely identical to the game, even down to the Rapid Transit situated behind us. Over to the left is that column Emily Wong stands at, the vendors even further along to that…it really is the spitting image of what it looks like in ME1, minus the jumpy frame-rates. It's so weird, to think I was playing through this area about six months ago, yet here I am seeing it in the flesh, with the very real danger of having to survive without the safety net of a 'Continue' button if I die. I supposed the best comparison would be _Heavy Rain_...but even in that you could just cheat and restart a scene if you fucked up. Like the bit where you try to escape into the subway with Ethan and Madison, and Madison suddenly seems to forget how to walk in a straight line…and I'm getting really sidetracked.

"We're just asking her some questions, Garrus. We don't need a repeat of the volus incident," I remind him. Poor Hante, Garrus probably managed to scar that volus merchant for life in the five minutes we spent 'talking' to him. I've been winding Garrus up about his 'anger issues' ever since. The turian just grumbles something I don't quite hear, and goes through the door into the clinic. It didn't sound like English…Wait, did he just swear at me in turian? Bastard! I follow him in to deliver some witty and highly sophisticated rebuke about him, drunkenness and a varren, then decide against it when I see what's happened when he walked inside.

Dr. Michel has her armed wrapped around his neck and is crying on his shoulder. Garrus is looking at me with shock, body language suggesting he's not sure whether to return the gesture or push the alien away.

"_Help," _he mouths at me. I fold my arms and shake my head. If you're going to use underhand tactics by insulting me in turian, I'm going to return the favour. His expression switches to panic, as he awkwardly tries to hug her back without seeming too intimate. It really doesn't work for him.

"There, erm…it's alright." He finally manages to stutter out. The still tearful Dr. Michel looks up at him, trace of a smile on her face. Something tells me if I'd walked in first I probably wouldn't have got this kind of a show…she did always seem quite keen on Garrus during the first game, didn't she? And she sends a message about him during ME2 as well…Then again, girls do seem to dig turians, if the comments section on Garrus's romance scene on YouTube is to be believed.

"Thank goodness you came!" she sobs. Bloody hell, that accent's even thicker than I remember! She sounds like fucking Colonel Klink but female! I guess one and half years on the Citadel will manage to refine that accent slightly for when Shepard arrives, at least I hope it will. "It's been horrible!"

Time to put Garrus out of his misery. "What's been horrible?" I ask, drawing her attention to me long enough for Garrus to disentangle himself. He owes me a drink for that…

"The death! All the red sand users, walking in here and just dying! Nothing we can do, just watch them as the life drains out of them!" Actually, that does sound pretty traumatic. Time to go for the sensitive approach.

"Do you want to take a seat, Doctor?" I say softly. "Do you want a drink of water or something?"

"I'm fine." Her voice suddenly steels itself at my offer of help, and she recovers some of her composure. "I'm just not used to this kind of thing…this is the worst I've ever seen in all my time on the Citadel."

"My partner and I here to investigate the deaths." I gesture at Garrus. "We believe there's a new type of red sand going around, something a lot more dangerous than what the users normally take."

"That sounds about right," she replies, voice returned fully to normal. "Some of the people who died still had samples of red sand in their pockets. We ran some tests, and it looks like this stuff has been cut with a powerful poison, which also acts as a stimulant in very small doses. At the levels people take red sand though, it becomes lethal."

"So whoever's making all this is deliberately cutting it with poison," Garrus muses. "That makes your theory sound more plausible, Ian." Thank you!

"What theory?" Michel looks confused. "What are you talking about?" It won't do any harm to tell her, she's helpful in Mass Effect 1 so I know I can trust her.

"We think someone's trying to wipe out red sand users in the Citadel. We haven't got a motive yet, and we don't know who's behind it, but all this evidence like deliberate poisoning of the supplies sounds like some kind of genocide against junkies."

"My God," she looks stunned. "That's terrible! It's not just the addicts that will die, even people trying it for the first time will be killed! We're looking at thousands, tens of thousands, dead in a matter of weeks if you can't stop this!" Shit, tens of thousands?

"How popular is red sand?" Garrus snaps. Looks like the urgency of the situation has hit him as well.

"You don't get many long term users, but the amount of people who try it once or twice is huge. Red sand gives you very weak biotic capability, basic telekinetic powers, that sort of things, so it's often taken by friends and family of a biotic, to try and understand what they're experiencing. It's almost harmless if you only try it once, and most people go off it almost straight away, but if this new red sand overflows the market…" She shakes her head. "I don't want to think about it."

"How long will it take for it to overflow the market?"

"Most dealers probably have to re-stock every three days or so. I'm guessing you've got three days at the most before almost every dealer on the Citadel is selling poison."

Fuck me…this is bad. Bad being the understatement of the fucking century. Three days to stop a massacre on an unprecedented scale, without any knowledge from the future on my part, and no leads. Surviving the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 seems more likely than us managing to stop this. Still, Dr. Michel might be able to help some leads. If she can't…I really don't know what to do.

"Have you got anything that can help us find where these drugs are coming from? Anything at all?" Garrus asks urgently, putting my thoughts into words.

Michel looks a bit flustered at the sudden intensity of questions. "No…" Damn it! "Oh, wait, we've got their belongings in the mortuary at the back. Would they help?"

Wait, the med clinic has a mortuary? I don't remember that from Mass Effect 1! Still, can't complain, seeing as it's our only lead at the moment.

"Definitely," Garrus replies, sounding a little relieved we've got something to go on. "Lead the way."

#################

"First a murder scene, now a mortuary. Why don't we ever go anywhere nice?" Garrus mutters to me as we enter the room, bodies and their belongings laid out in a disturbingly neat manner.

"It could be worse. It's not like we're going into a plague zone or anything," I whisper back. Garrus gives me an odd look. You'll find it funny in a few years, mate.

"A nasty way to go," Michel is saying, drawing our attention back to her. "Patient starts vomiting, the poison also causes the blood to thin. It literally drains them away from the inside." She shakes her head. "It's barbaric that someone would do this…" Yeah, sounds like something the Nazis would have done. Oh shit, don't mention the war! I didn't mean it like that!

"Is there any kind of cure?" I ask, trying to take my mind of what I was just thinking.

"Not that I know of," comes the sad reply. "Besides, it's an extremely fast acting poison. We're looking at a few hours between consumption and death."

"Is there any way we can warn people?" The idea suddenly hits me. "Put it out on news broadcasts, not to buy red sand because it's poisonous."

"Nice idea, but naïve," the doctor says. "Most users would just assume it was C-Sec trying to trick them into not buying red sand and just continue anyway." Damn it…there has to be something for us to go on! We need to find the exact dealer who's been supplying these people. Maybe the belongings will help, even if it's a long shot.

"Garrus, take a look through the belongings, see what you can find. I'll give it a try as well." He nods and starts rummaging through the boxes, Dr. Michel's eyes firmly on him. Time of crisis, and all she can think about is Garrus…too bad the feeling isn't mutual. Let's see what we've got…credit chits, a comb, a mouldy apple, packet of what seems to be some chewing gum. No incriminating evidence.

"Damn it!" I shout, losing my cool and knocking the box to the floor. Garrus stops what he's doing and gives me a concerned look, even Michel manages to tear her eyes off the turian for a few seconds to stare at me.

"Sorry, I'm just frustrated, that's all…Wait a minute, what have we here?" Something's fallen out of the box when I knocked it over, something that looks suspiciously like…

"It's an omni-tool!" I announce. Alright, this could be useful. I pop it open, password screen staring back at me. Frustrating, but nothing I can't hack my way past. I start the hack on my omni-tool, and it takes less than thirty seconds to break the basic encryption. Garrus looks impressed, probably because I couldn't hack my way out of Windows Vista a few months ago. Good to see my tech skills have improved since then. The omni-tool has no mail on it, unfortunately, barely any applications…the only thing to check is the map section on it. Quick check of his bookmarked locations, one place near Chora's Den. Annotation reads: _'8pm, 1000 credits. 30g.'_ It might not seem like much, but considering this omni-tool belongs to a junkie I'll bet that's the dealer's location, along with time, cost and amount he's getting.

"Garrus, check this out." I point out the bookmark to him. "What do you reckon? You think we could be onto something here?"

"We've got nothing else, and that would make sense he'd made a note of where and when he was buying stuff, red sand has a way of frying the brain…" He looks around hurriedly. "Not that I'd know."

"So you think we should try there first? Let's face it, there's not much else we can do."

"I guess," he nods.

"Wait." We both swivel our heads to look at Michel, who's standing there looking a bit embarrassed she's interrupted. "You can't just wade in. C-Sec uniforms will send the dealer running. He'll be expecting the person who owned that omni-tool."

"And that would be…" I prompt.

"His name is," she says, glancing at a datapad she seemingly produced from thin air, "Norman Jayden."

What? Everyone's favourite Triptocaine chugging, oddly accented FBI agent dead of a red sand overdose? That's surreal, even if it does make sense in a really weird way…

"Can I see the body?" Michel nods, and leads me over to one of the body bags, before opening it slightly so I can see the face. It doesn't actually look like the _Heavy Rain _character, thank Christ, that would have been too crazy…instead we've got a pretty generic looking human male, about six feet tall or so. Long hair, blondish colour. He would probably look a bit like from me, from a distance...wait a minute!

"What are you suggesting, doctor?" I ask, knowing fine well what her answer will be.

"Someone has to go undercover here." She shrugs. "And I don't think your partner would quite fit the bill, do you?"

Bugger, she's right. Seven foot tall Garrus wouldn't really be inconspicuous trying to pass himself off as a human, and that's before people noticed his fringe or he opened his mouth to say one flanging word. Looks like I'm going to have to take one for the team…he owes me another drink for this!

"Fine," I sigh. It's not even a glamorous undercover mission, like breaking into Donovan Hock's vault…instead of pretending to be a successful mercenary leader, I get to be a red sand junkie. Fun! "How are we going to make me look like a red sand user?"

Her eyes go back towards Norman Jayden's possession box, containing his personal belongings, clothes…

"No. Fuck off, there's no way I'm wearing a dead man's stuff."

###############

Ten minutes later, I'm standing in front of a mirror checking how Norman's stuff fits on me. It's exactly my size, annoyingly…I still hate 2181 fashion, and I've been here for five months now. Good thing there's a few vintage shops on the Citadel selling stuff that almost looks normal to me. Norman, however, didn't have vintage taste, so instead I'm wearing something similar to what Udina would wear, along with a pair of sunglasses we found in the possession's box. Go figure, when they belong to a guy called Norman Jayden.

"Looking good, Ian," Garrus drawls, revelling in my misery. "You think Rebecca would like a picture of you like that?"

"Take that picture, I'll tear your fringe off and stick it…"

"Erm, maybe we'll talk later," he interrupts, sounding a bit worried. Yeah, I know how much turians value their fringes…Michel looks me up and down a few times, before nodding approvingly.

"You should be able to pass off as Jayden, for a while." She mutters. "But don't talk unless you have to, as soon as you say something the dealer'll know something's not right and make a run for it. Just get close enough to them to make an arrest."

"I'll be with you all the way," Garrus butts in. "The area this dealer's in is a maze, mainly maintenance corridors barely anyone uses these days. Makes sense he'd be doing deals there, but it also gives me plenty of good places to hide until you take him down."

Looks like we've got all this planned out pretty well…the time at the moment is 2pm, and the dealer should be arriving at 8pm. Good, that gives us plenty of time to set up where we need to be.

"You think we should call for back-up?" I ask, thinking out loud.

"No, too risky. The maze like corridors work in their favour as well. If our dealer sees even one officer, they'll probably be able to escape before we can close them down. We need to keep the numbers on this as small as possible."

"Right." Looks like we've got this planned out pretty well. Whether or not said plan is going to stand up to pressure in an actual operation, that's a completely different question…

"Will you two be alright?" Michel asks, though I get the feeling I'm not the one she's really concerned about. "I can give you medical supplies, that kind of thing, if you need them." Actually, that could be pretty useful…

"It's alright," Garrus replies politely. "We're already stocked up on medi-gel." Michel looks disappointed.

"I'm sure Garrus will be able to come back if we need any resupplies," I say quickly. That seems to improve the doctor's mood significantly. Garrus just glares at me. "Thanks for all your help, Doctor."

"Please, call me Chloe." Again, that was probably for Garrus's benefit… "Anything I can do to help. I really hope this turns out for you, detectives." Her expression suddenly turns incredibly sincere. "A lot is riding on this."

"You don't need to remind me," I grimace, as Garrus and I head out of the door.

"Good luck with the clinic, Chloe," Garrus says as he leaves. A broad smile forms on her face at his words, then the clinic doors slide shut behind us.

He turns to me. "You sure you can do this? We haven't really trained for undercover work, you know?"

"If we don't do this, thousands of people could die, Garrus. I'm not going to let that happen." He nods approvingly.

"You're right." He jumps into the cruiser, and fires up the engine. "Besides, it's one drug dealer. How hard can it be?"

**A/N: Another chapter finishing with some 'famous last words'…It'll be significantly more difficult than Ian and Garrus are expecting. Exciting chapter next, not this plot-based drivel! Who cares about plot, after all?**

**I'm joking, of course, but it is time for some more exciting things to happen. I mean, it's been four chapters since the last action sequence, for God's sake!** **Something for you to look forward to.**

**Thousands of lives at stake…I thought the one original case I make should be suitably epic =D****. Thanks to all you readers and reviewers, especially for the sudden influx of reviews I've been getting in recent chapters, it's fantastic, thank you all so much.**

**Oh yeah, on a final note before I forget, CitadelGamesSalesman, you just lost the game. Happy now, mate?**

**Until next chapter…**


	17. Stunts and Salarians

Chapter 17

**A/N: A few things before we begin.**

**Just to prevent reviews and comments saying 'this is a self-insert, don't lie about what you can do', I have done some parcour before (not much, mind), so the stunts performed in this chapter are within my capabilities.**

**And, contrary to my description, Dr. Michel is actually French-Canadian, thanks to Sia Later for telling me. But, for the purposes of this fic, she's now German, because I'm an idiot and wrote it that way.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

7:50pm. Everything's set up and ready to go. Garrus has managed to scout himself a good hiding place, I'm waiting in position for the dealer to arrive. So far, so good. This maintenance area really isn't what I was expecting…An ugly mix of huge and small, flat roofed buildings, overflowing dumpsters line the claustrophobic alleyways. It looks a bit like a futuristic slum or something…

"You said this was a maintenance area, right?" I think out loud.

"_Only on paper," _Garrus's voice crackles in my ear over the radio._ "No-one ever uses here for that anymore, the Keepers take care of all the Citadel maintenance. All the old buildings here started filling with squatters, junkies, general underworld types. The Council pretty much had the place cleared out a few years ago, but you still get the odd group of people down here some unlucky C-Sec officers have to deal with. A perfect place for this dealer to work. If they show up. We're screwed if they don't, aren't we?"_

"I really don't want to think about that possibility. They'll be here, Garrus. We've just got to wait ten minutes." I'm not quite sure I completely believe what I'm saying, but blind optimism is certainly better than the alternatives.

"_I hate waiting," _he grumbles. _"Boring. Much rather be doing something useful. Or shooting something."_

"You sound like a krogan," I mumble back. A small grunt of laughter comes back over the radio in response. "Besides, you've got me to talk to, stave off the boredom."

"_Yeah, great. Something you want to talk about? I'm not much of a conversationalist." _Yeah, you don't say.

"That Dr. Michel really took a shine to you, wouldn't you say?" It's a good thing he can't see my facial expression, or he'd probably hit me.

"_Spirits…" _he mutters. _"Was she, what's the human phrase, coming on to me?"_

"Yeah, something like that," I laugh. "You don't feel anything back?" Poor guy, I already know how awkward he is in love, especially when it comes to humans. What is it that makes him seem to hate being physically close to anyone?

"_She seemed nice enough," _he admits._ "But the lack of a fringe is…disconcerting. I really don't think she's my type."_

"I don't think you _having_ a fringe is putting her off. Did her waist look supportive enough for you?" The words are out my mouth before I can stop myself.

He makes a choking noise on the other side of the line. "_How the hell do you know what turians look for in women?_" he asks. Shit, I shouldn't have said that…

"I read it on the extranet."

"_Why were you searching for that on the extranet?_"

Crap, not good…think of something! "Curiosity?"

He's silent for a few seconds, then suddenly starts laughing. I breathe a sigh of relief, looks like he's taken my word for it. The consequences are probably going to be a little embarrassing now I've said that…

"_Didn't have you down as that type, Ian. Especially considering you're seeing Rebecca."_

I knew it! Fucking Garrus taking any ammunition I give him! "I told you, I'm open-minded. Besides, this was long before Rebecca."

"_So she wouldn't mind if I told her?" _he asks innocently. Grrrrr…

"You do that, I'll give you so many scars even a krogan couldn't love you…" Footsteps start echoing down the alley. Looks like our dealer's here early. I'm doubly relieved he's turned up, it proves he exists for one thing, and it stops my conversation with Garrus getting _really _out of hand."

"_Salarian, male." _Garrus is all business again. _"He's holding something…" _There's a sound, like he's sniffing the air. "_Smells like red sand." _Impressive! Though how does Garrus know what red sand smells like? "_You know what to do, Ian."_

"I'm going in now." Bloody hell, that sounds so clichéd when I say it…I start the walk towards the dealer. Just act casual, don't do anything stupid…the distance to walk is only about thirty metres, but it feels like it's taking an eternity. Thinking the word eternity reminds me about asari and Bloody Mary…keep it together, Ian, for God's sake!

"Norman Jayden?" The salarian asks. I just nod, remembering what Michel said about not talking. All I need to see is the red sand, then I can arrest him. Just need to stay calm.

"Let's see it, then." I assume he's talking about the credits, so I show him the credit chit we took from Norman's possessions. I mean, it's not like he'll need it.

"Good. Now, all I need is the password we agreed previously and we can make the trade. Sorry, I just need to know you are who you say you are." Password? Shit, there wasn't a note of that on Norman's omni-tool! The salarian is looking at me expectantly. I've got to guess something, and the only password I know in the Mass Effect universe comes to mind.

"Erm…Perrugia?" Please, let Hock's vault password be right…

"You're not Norman Jayden!" The salarian squeaks. Yeah, no shit, pal. I lunge in to try and floor him, but he ducks under the clumsy attack and legs it, in the opposite direction to where Garrus is hiding. For fuck's sake!

"Garrus, he's getting away!" I start sprinting after him, accelerating fast. The athletics training I had back in 2010 kick in, lock my arms at ninety degree angles, drive through with my arms, raise my knees and push off the ground on my toes. Jayden's sunglasses are bouncing up down on my nose, the useless pieces of crap! I hurl them to the side. The salarian's absolutely rapid, a lot faster than I was expecting, but he's got no technique and I'm gradually closing ground.

"_Shit! Where's he going? I'll try to cut him off!" _Garrus's voice barks.

There's a few exits out of here, one into the 900 blocks, one cutting back into a shopping area of the Wards…shopping area!

"He'll be heading to the Wards, try to lose us in the crowd there!" I shout, lungs burning as I hurtle round a corner, vaulting a bin the dealer's knocked over to try and trip me.

"_On it!" _Garrus's voice pants in my ear. "_Don't lose sight of him!"_ Nice one, Captain Obvious! The salarian's head swivels around as he runs in front of me, and from the terrified look on his face he knows I'm catching him. What he does next, however, takes me by surprise. He leaps onto a dumpster, then hops from that onto the roof of a small building. Bloody hell, I'm not in the mood for any Mirror's Edge crap…I follow him, thankfully almost able to match his speed climbing and jumping. Almost, however, isn't good enough, and he's using that too his advantage. I can gain on him in straight runs, but he has the advantage when it comes to the acrobatics. The salarian jumps onto a ladder leading up to a particularly tall building, and scrambles up it, taking two rungs at a time. I scramble up after him. This would be a seriously bad time to develop vertigo…

The dealer's already sprinting away by the time I reach the roof, hurdling an air vent and disappearing from my view. I hoist myself up and charge forwards, pretty much diving over the vent. Which is a pretty big mistake, considering the six feet drop and concrete roof rushing towards my face. I just manage to turn it into a roll rather than a faceplant, keeping up my momentum. The salarian's stopped ahead of me. Thank Christ, looks like we've ran out of roof!

"It's over, mate!" I shout, in between gasps of air. "Put your hands where I can see them!"

He starts walking towards me, then suddenly turns around and dashes for the edge of the roof. Shit, he's actually going to jump!

"NO!" I shout, dashing after him, knowing fine well I'm far, far too late. He hurtles off the roof and disappears from my sight. That was our only lead…thousands of people might die along with that salarian. Fuck, I wasn't fast enough…I stand over the lip of the roof, and see the salarian looking up at me from a lower rooftop previously below my line of sight. Oh, thank God, he's alive! We've still got hope! The jump is pretty big, about a six metre gap. Though, considering the height drop between roofs, I should be able to travel a fair bit further than I would on a flat surface. And if I wimp out of this jump, thousands of people could die.

Don't stop, don't think, just go. I charge towards the edge of the roof, building up as much speed as I can. Jump too early, I won't make it, leave it too late, I'll have no roof to jump off. I hold the sprint as long as I can, watching the edge rushing towards me. Now! I hurl myself up and across the gap. The other rooftop rushes towards me, but I already know I've miscalculated and jumped too early. My trajectory's all wrong, I'm going to collide with the lip of the other roof…My chest hits first, knocking the wind out of me, but I somehow manage to reach up and grab the roof with both hands, and start desperately trying to scramble up the slippery surface. My head is just over the top of the roof…and the salarian is standing there, looking at my hands. Oh God…if he steps on them, I'm done. I re-double my efforts, but the nature of the surface and me being winded makes the task almost impossible, as I slowly inch up the wall. The salarian looks increasingly desperate, glancing at me and his escape route, trying to make his mind up. I'm almost up now, but he could still kill me if he wanted…just a little bit further! The salarian mutters something I don't hear in an angry tone, then rushes off, leaving me to clamber up. He could have killed me, but he let me live…I can't dwell on that now. It's all pointless if I can't catch him. There's a ladder leading down to street level on the opposite end of the roof, which I bolt over to and slide down. There's a stretch of straight before me, about a hundred metres long. The salarian's about thirty metres ahead of me, and at the end of the corridor I can see the busy shopping district. I start my sprint again, but the salarian's already got a huge headstart, there's no way I'm going to catch him…

"Garrus, he going to get away! Get C-Sec in on the shopping district, now!"

"_No he's not." _Garrus's voice says calmly in my ear. The dealer has about twenty metres to go, when Garrus bolts out of an alley seemingly from nowhere just in front of the salarian and sticks his arm out, clothes-lining the poor bastard and sending him straight to the floor, where Garrus restrains him.

"What took you so long?" he asks, arrogant grin on his face. I stand there, sucking in lung-fulls of air, almost collapsing from exhaustion and the sheer relief we caught him.

##############

"How do want to handle this?" Garrus asks. We've got the salarian resting against an alley wall, still trying to recover from his exertions and a turian forearm to the face. "Think I should go in heavy, try and get it out of him as fast as possible?"

"No." I say, quickly. Last thing I want is a violent interrogation again. "I reckon I can talk him round. Give me five minutes, then if it doesn't work we can try it your way."

"Right," he replies, somewhat reluctantly. "Five minutes."

The dealer scowls at me as I approach, but I just shake if off. I'd be surprised if he was happy to see me, after all.

"You need some medi-gel, or something?" I ask, going for a friendly approach. "We've got plenty, if you want it."

"I'm fine," he spits. "What the hell do you want?" Looks like he's not going to be friendly back.

"I need to ask you a few questions. First off, do you know what you're selling is a lethal substance, not regular red sand?"

He scoffs. "What are you talking about?"

"The man you came here to see, Norman Jayden, he was a regular customer?" The salarian nods reluctantly. Well, at least he's co-operating. "He's dead. Poisoned, by the red sand you sold him."

"That's impossible," the salarian says frantically. "I've been going to the same supplier for years, supplying Norman for almost as long. Nothing like this has ever happened before. He must have just overdosed."

"We found about two grams worth of a substance similar to red sand in his bloodstream. Similar, except it was cut with poison. More than could be seen as an accident."

"I swear to you, I didn't do that! I'm not a murderer!"

"I know," I sigh. "You could have killed me back on that rooftop, but you didn't. So believe me, I want to help you, but if you can't tell me who did this to the red sand, my boss needs someone arrested for murder. And you'll be the prime suspect."

"I can't go to jail for this," he wails. "I didn't do it! I've got family, they won't be able to survive if I can't bring money to them!"

"Then tell me who supplies you!" I shout. "I can't help you if you don't help me first!"

"If I tell you, I need to know you won't arrest me. For murder, red sand dealing, whatever."

I look over to my partner. "Garrus!" I shout. He turns around and looks at me inquisitively. "Did you find any red sand on the suspect?" I ask, winking.

He gets the hint straight away. "Red sand? I don't know what you're talking about, Ian."

I look back at the dealer. "We got a deal?"

"Fine." He sighs. "But you didn't hear this from me, ok?" I nod. "The Blue Suns have been supplying me. Hell, most of the Citadel's dealers buy from them." I knew a merc group would be involved…

"Can you be more specific? I need a name, location, something like that!"

"A man called Jasper Thereon. Human, runs the red sand smuggling operation on the Citadel. That's where this stuff's been coming from. He sells stuff out of a bar, it's just a cover for their operation."

"What's the bar called?"

"Club Ramrod." Ramrod? What kind of a name is that? Sounds like a gay bar or something. Still, I don't care about what the club's called, more about what's in it.

"Is that it? All you know?"

"That's it. I told you, I'm not a murderer. I don't want dead people on my conscience, drug dealing's bad enough already."

Too right…I'm contemplating arresting him for drug dealing, but we had a deal.

"You've got two minutes to get out of here before my partner and I arrest you again, alright?" He nods frantically, and staggers to his feet.

"Look…thanks," I say, just before he goes. "If you don't want to be a drug dealer, if you're not comfortable with it, there's plenty of job opportunities for someone as athletic as you. Legitimate job opportunities. C-Sec could do with some decent officers these days, and I'd put in a good word for you if you want. Get a good wage, support your family on the right side of the law."

"Really?" he asks, sounding surprised. "You'd do that?"

"If it made you reform, then sure. Just think about it, ok?"

"I will." He smiles.

"But you're still a drug dealer at the moment," I point out. "So get running, before I arrest you." He doesn't waste a second, dashing into the crowds in the Wards. Garrus walks over and stands at my side.

"Not a bad guy…" I mutter. "How does someone like him end up dealing drugs?"

"Nice guy?" Garrus asks incredulously. "He was a criminal, end of story!"

"The world's not black and white like that, Garrus. He wanted to change. It's amazing what you can find out about people if you hold back on the violence."

"Suit yourself," he says. "It's not important, anyway. I'm assuming he told you something useful for you to let him get away?"

Oh, it's more than useful, Garrus. "Call Pallin, tell him to send armed back-up, three trained officers. We're going for a drink."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chase scene and other developments…I'm a little annoyed with the chase, mainly because putting the image in my mind down on the document was a lot harder than I expected. Still, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Next chapter, things will remain firmly on the ground, as Ian, Garrus and the C-Sec team raid Club Ramrod. Good old-fashioned bar fight shenanigans, us vs. twenty-odd mercenaries. Look forward to that!**

**Unfortunately, this may be my last chapter for quite some time. I'm going on holiday for a week and a bit very soon, so I may not be able to upload for around two weeks. Sorry :(. The story shall continue when I get back though, so be patient!**

**So, be seeing you next chapter…whenever that may be.**


	18. Battles, Bars and Batarians

Chapter 18

"Building scan is complete, sir."

I've got to say, I'm glad Pallin didn't screw us over when we asked for back-up. Garrus put the call in, explained the situation, and the Executor was more than happy to oblige our wishes, for a change. He wasn't lying when he said he wanted this dealt with quickly, because he's co-operating fully for a change. The three-man team we sent for arrived pretty quickly, from the looks of things they're the C-Sec equivalent of a SWAT team. Two turians and a human, loaded up with assault rifles, shotguns, grenades and armour. Just what we needed. They also brought along our sniper rifles, and some light armour, which was thoughtful of them. The armour is pretty standard fare, with fairly weak kinetic barriers, but I suppose I won't be complaining about that when it's stopping bullets for me.

"Good." I respond. "And relax, mate. I respond a hell of a lot better to Ian than 'sir'."

"Yes, sir, I mean Ian!" The turian officer in question babbles nervously. They probably didn't prepare him for that kind of request at the Academy…I just hope he deals with bloodthirsty mercs better than informality.

"You going to tell me what the scan shows?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Or do you want me to guess?"

"Of course not, si…Ian." It was meant as a joke, bro...though I imagine it would be lost on the turian even if I told him that. "The scan picked up traces of element zero from the basement. I'm not sure you know much about red sand, but…"

"It's made from refined element zero. I'm assuming that's what your scan picked up?"

"Yes. There's traces of eezo, but not enough for it to be pure element zero. So we're almost certainly looking at red sand, and from the amount the scan picked up, we're talking a very large amount."

So far, so good. "What did the thermal scan pick up?"

"That's the bad news," he grimaces. "The bar's packed, but this place must be a large Blue Suns safehouse for them to be running the drugs trade from. That means we're not looking at any civilians in there, it's safe to assume everyone inside that bar belongs to the Blue Suns."

"And they're all probably armed." The turian nods. Shit, I was expecting resistance, but this looks heavier than I'd hoped. "How many mercs?"

"The scan estimates about thirty." Thirty mercs against five C-Sec officers? I don't like those odds, even considering how heavily armed we are. We're going to need some kind of plan.

"Everyone, gather round!" I shout over to the rest of the squad. Garrus, another turian and a human all walk round the hologram of the building plan we've got projected up.

"We've got a confirmed stash of red sand in the basement of the building. Only problem, there's thirty mercs standing between us and it. The bar has two floors, the ground floor contains typical tables, chairs and a high topped bar in the middle. The top floor has a few less sitting areas, meaning less mercs, but giving them plenty of scope to shoot at us from above." I say, pointing at various points on the hologram as I talk. "There's also a corridor on the top floor leading to some kind of office, I'm assuming that's where the leader, Jasper Thereon, is. I want him taken alive," I point out sternly. "He's a big player in the whole red sand business and we need to ask him some questions. What I need from you," I glance at the C-Sec team, "is a plan of attack. You guys are the experts, after all."

The human team member looks pretty grim. "There's only one entrance, through the front door. The best chance we've got is storming straight in, take down anyone who gets in our way."

"No, too risky," one of the turians says, shaking his head. "We'll be gunned down as soon as we enter."

"You got any better plans?" The human asks, hostility in his voice obvious. Oh God, I really don't have time for inter-species grudges right now…

"Why don't we just ask them politely if we can have the red sand?" Garrus suggests, obviously trying to lighten the mood. The other officers smirk, but that actually gives me an idea…

"Garrus, that's it! You're a genius!"

"Come on, Ian," he scowls. "I don't need the sarcasm in this kind of situation."

"I'm not being sarcastic." The look of annoyance changes to confusion.

"You're joking right?" The human asks. "You want to go in and _ask?_"

"Not exactly," I reply, small smile forming on my lips. "You guys got any spare grenades?"

#########

"Run that by me again," the turian says, stunned expression on his face. This is going down as well as Legion on the Migrant Fleet…

"It's not complex, people! I'm going to walk into the bar, distract the mercenaries by making a scene, asking about red sand and demanding to see Jasper. All eyes will be on me, right?" Everyone nods, a little uncertainly. "While I talk, Garrus here will slip in unnoticed, and plant a few surprises for our mercenary friends." I wave a grenade around in my hand. "When I give him a signal and he's safely away from the explosion, he'll detonate the explosives. There's three large tables for him to set the grenades at on the ground floor, that should clear out about five mercs per table, and leave the rest confused. Garrus and I will then take cover behind the bar," I point it out on the floor plan, "which gives us cover from both floors, and start mopping up the rest. You guys burst in, take them by surprise, and we're home free!"

"No, that's just as crazy the second time through," the same turian groans. "There's so many things that could go wrong I can't even begin to list them!"

"Look, we all go in through the front door and get gunned down, or we try this. Certain death, or probable death." I give him a scathing look. "Which one will it be?"

He just glares back. I'll take that as plan accepted, then. "Everyone get your stuff together. Wait for the explosion, then move in. You know what you're doing, Garrus?" He nods, solemnly. Bloody hell, where's the confidence? "Good. We move in five minutes."

##########

Okay, this was a crazy plan. I walk through the doors of Club Ramrod, trying to ignore the piercing glares I'm getting from every occupant of the room as I stroll towards the bar in full C-Sec armour. Mind you, that's kind of the idea of the plan, to draw attention to me, but it sounded so much simpler in theory than it actually is in practice. Come on, just act confident, and pray no-one sees Garrus come in after me…I'm getting a definite suicide mission vibe from this whole thing. The batarian barkeeper fixes me with his glare as I approach him, all four eyes burning into mine. Right, that's really intimidating. I almost can't wait to start shooting things.

"What the fuck do you want?" the batarian spits when I reach the bar. Typical, charming batarian greeting.

"A drink please," I smile back, then lift my fingers to me chin, adopting a mockingly thoughtful pose. "Oh, and the red sand supply you have downstairs, if you don't mind." The batarian's mouth opens slightly in shock, as thirty hands around the bar slowly reach for their favoured weapon. Yep, I think I've got everyone's attention. Now all I need is for them not to shoot me until Garrus is done planting grenades.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," he growls back.

"Really?" I laugh loudly. The more dramatic I am, the better. "That's funny, because when I scanned this building before I'm pretty sure I picked up traces of a large quantity of red sand coming from your basement. Unless you're smuggling element zero, in which case you're still under arrest." I smile, apologetically. "Sorry."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" The barkeeper snaps. "You've got thirty armed mercenaries surrounding you, and you're going to try arresting us all?"

"Something like that." I turn round, pretending to look at all the mercs snarling at me but really following the turian shaped shadow making his way around the edge of the room unnoticed, occasionally stopping at the three busiest tables. "Unless, of course, you're going to resist arrest, in which case I'm authorised to use unlimited force to subdue you."

There's a silent pause, before every merc in the building burst out laughing. Even the batarian starts. I turn back around and stare impassively at the barkeeper until he finally stops.

"Consider arrest resisted, officer," he chuckles. "You gonna kill me now?"

My hands rest on the bar stool, loose on the ground below me. Pretty hefty, probably could cause some serious damage if it were to connect with someone's face at a high velocity. Time to give Garrus the codephrase and get ready for some serious trouble.

"Shame, I was hoping we could do this the easy way." Here we go... I'm standing pretty far away from the target tables, but this is probably going to hurt…the explosion is deafening, hurling the mercenaries at the tables against walls with sickening thuds and screams. I'm knocked off balance by it, staggering sideways as a searing heat burns up my left hand side, thankfully kept away from my skin by the armour. I recover quickly, but the batarian doesn't, staring at the carnage as if shell-shocked. I swing the bar-stool as hard as I can, hitting him squarely around the head and shattering the stool, sending him crashing to the ground. Vaulting over the bar and taking cover, Garrus dives over almost at the same time, just as the shouting and first shots are fired from the mercenaries.

"You take the left hand side, I'll take the right!" I shout to Garrus. He nods the affirmative, before popping up out of cover and blasting away at Blue Suns with his handgun. I follow suit, quickly nailing a merc who's shields were taken down by the explosion before he knows what's hit him. There's one mercs dazed and out in the open, which I start to fire at, burning through his shields with rapid handgun fire just as he recovers and fires back inaccurately. I take the time to line up my shot, squaring the sights on his head before pulling the trigger twice. The human slumps to the floor, lifeless eyes still looking up at the hole in-between each other. This is like Time Crisis! Pop out of cover, blast away at enemies, pop back behind it...His friends finally twig on my position, though, and the resulting fire clips my shields and takes them down, forcing me back behind cover. From what I can see, there's four mercs on the ground floor on my side, then two up above putting suppressing fire on my position.

I wait for my shields to recharge fully, whilst holstering my pistol and switching to the sniper rifle for the high targets. Full shields should be able to protect me for a few seconds…long enough to scope one target, hopefully. I lean back out, eye to the scope, eyeing the turian above me spraying assault rifle fire down at the bar. Line up the sights…I fire, but my hand jolts slightly and the bullet flies wide. Bollocks! My shields are completely down, and just as I move back to cover a stray bullet grazes my shoulder. Bloody hell, that stings…my armour applies some medi-gel to the wound, dulling the pain with a strange cooling sensation as it covers up the graze. I've got to be more careful…where I didn't mind losing a bit of health in the Mass Effect games, taking damage without shields here has much more serious consequences. The shields are back up, and this time I don't hesitate with the shot, lifting the rifle and sending a bullet straight through the turian's skull, painting the wall behind him blue. A glance back to my right shows exactly what I was fearing, during my time shooting at the top floor the mercs on the ground have been advancing towards the bar. We're going to be overwhelmed…there's a huge boom as another explosion reverberates around the bar, sending even more mercs sailing through the air on Garrus's side. What the hell…

Three figures in full C-Sec riot gear come charging through the front doors, weapons blazing, catching the mercs completely by surprise. Finally, the cavalry arrives! In the confusion, I switch back to my pistol, helping out the team by reducing shields, and finishing off any unprotected Blue Suns they missed. It's over in a matter of seconds, as the remaining few mercs quickly realise they're completely outgunned and surrender.

"Bout' bloody time you got here!" I shout over to the team. The human member grins back, but the turians keep their facial expressions firmly professional. Humourless bastards. "Two of you, head up and get Jasper Thereon! We'll go and check the basement, the remaining one watch the bar!" I gesture at the surrendered mercs. They all nod, the two turians running upstairs as the other starts subduing the remaining Blue Suns. I nod at Garrus, and we both head downstairs to the basement.

"You alright?" Garrus asks, as we head down the steps.

"Fine. Got shot in the shoulder, but the medi-gel's taking care of it. You?"

"Nothing." He grins. "I didn't have you down as a tactician, but that worked better than I hoped!"

"I got shot!" I exclaim. "That's not better than what I was hoping for!"

"Relax," he laughs. "It's just a flesh wound. Some women like scars, right?"

"Yeah, but most of those women are krogan." The basement's pretty dark, but Garrus and I both turn on out omni-tool lights and take a look around. The place is filled with crates…I think this could be it.

"You got a crowbar or something, Garrus?"

He un-holsters his pistol and shoots a hole in one of the crates, causing several packets to slip out of it.

"Or just shoot it, whatever…" We both investigate the packets. The substance looks exactly like red sand, and Garrus sniffs the air.

"That's definitely red sand," he confirms. "The new stuff, too. We can run the tests, but there's a difference in smell between normal red sand and this." He grins. "We've got it. We've stopped the supply!"

"_Ian, we've got Jasper Thereon. You want us to bring him down to the bar for questioning?"_

"Yeah, please," I reply, holding a finger to my ear as the turian's voice comes through the radio. "Good job."

"What's that?" Garrus asks.

"We're not done yet," I sigh. "We've stopped this shipment, but the supply's a completely different thing. We need to follow this all the way to the source." I grin, thinking about the mercenary leader being brought downstairs. "And I know just the man to lead us there."

**A/N: I know I said no more updates for two weeks, but I had to give you just one more chapter before I left! This really is the last chapter for two weeks though, no exceptions now ****. Apologies for any spelling mistakes, I'm pretty much uploading this just before I leave so I haven't had much time to check it.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the bar fight…it's going to be more plot after this, interrogating Jasper Thereon, following the trail back to the source, and all the dramatic events that entails. Look forward to that when I get back!**

**And we've reached 100 reviews! Woot! I never thought Masses to Masses would be so popular…you guys and girls proved me so very, very, wrong. I can't thank everyone who's reviewed enough, but I'll try. Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!**

**So, this is it for two weeks. Thank you all so much again, readers and reviewers, and until next time…**


	19. Interrogation and Excess Force

Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey. I know I said I'd be on holiday for two weeks, but since I'm weird I'm now home for long enough to write a chapter for Masses to Masses anyway, then I'm away until Tuesday. It's a long story…that I can't be arsed to explain.**

**Quick recap for everyone: Garrus, Ian and the C-Sec team just uncovered a stash of red sand, and managed to capture the Blue Suns merc in charge of the operation, Jasper Thereon!**

**I've got more to say, but let's leave it 'til the end of the chapter. Going on holiday certainly worked off some stress, but I've got enough left to write a brutal interrogation scene. No, my surname isn't Bauer. Enjoy!**

My first thought when Garrus and I leave the basement is about how much we fucked up the bar. There's huge scorch marks on the walls where the explosions happened, shattered glass everywhere from smashed bottles and windows, overturned tables…and blood. There's a lot of that. A mixture of red and blue stains across the floor, mixed in with the multicoloured liquid leaking from shattered liquor bottles. Now that the adrenaline of the fight's worn off, it suddenly dawns on me how many people I killed, and assisted in killing…Sure, I incinerated an elcor before, but he really, _really, _deserved it, and other than that I've only killed synthetic targets until now. I mean, I've actually killed a man. That's not something many people can say, and it's not a proud boast. I actually feel a little bit sick.

Garrus picks up on my sober mood almost immediately. He's got incredibly good at that over the past few months, picking up on even the smallest changes of expression on my face and judging my mood instantly. Then again, human faces are a hell of a lot more expressive than turian's, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks, looking me in the eye. "You feeling well?"

"I'm alright." He raises the turian equivalent of an eyebrow. Yeah, that was a blatant lie. "I've never really killed before…some of these guys probably had family, bills to pay, all the crap. And I just waltzed in here and shot them in the head."

"It's normal to feel like this when you've killed someone. If you weren't feeling regret, I'd actually be worried about you." He laughs a bit at his own words, then changes his expression back to serious. "But think about it this way. These mercs were holding a supply of red sand that could have killed thousands. If we hadn't done it, lots of innocents could have died, rather than a few criminals."

"Sacrifice the few to save the many." He nods.

"Something like that."

Well, he is right. And to be honest, when/if I join Shepard, I'll be killing literally legions of mercs. Hell, if Shepard's a Renegade, I'll probably be killing them for just looking at her funny, so I may as well get used to it now.

"Ain't no pep talk like a military pep talk," I mutter, grinning a little bit.

He looks a bit confused. "How'd you know that was military? An officer said that to me first time I killed someone in the turian military."

Really? Shit, I _didn't_ know that. Here I was trying to be ironic, and he completely owns me by turning it around!

"Forget it, just a human turn of phrase." He shrugs, content with my explanation. It's getting harder and harder to lie to Garrus and Rebecca like this…my best friend and my love interest don't even know who I am, and it's starting to tear me apart a little bit. Then again, it's not like I can just tell them. Like Mary said, if I try and change things in the present it could affect the future irreversibly. I guess, in a way, I'm sacrificing the few here to save the many. I live a double life so that the future stays safe. Yeah, telling them is not an option, however much I want to do it. Bloody Mary…is that even her real fucking name? An asari called Mary? That can't be right, there must be some other explanation…

"Ian?" Garrus clacks his mandibles irritably in front of me. "We've got an interrogation to conduct, when you're ready."

"Shit, sorry, I phased out." I can see the turian officers preparing Jasper Thereon for interrogation, handcuffing him to a chair…Hoo-boy, this ought to be fun, especially with Garrus taking the lead. I've got nothing to negotiate to Thereon with, so looks like Mr. Vakarian will be kicking his teeth in instead. I love fair justice. "How do you want to play this?" I ask him, though I can probably guess the answer. "I'm good cop?"

He lets out a low-throated growl. I'll take that as a yes, then.

"Come on, Garrus," I sigh. "At least tell me you have a plan that isn't going to involve you hitting him."

"I swear to the spirits, I won't hit him." Garrus grins. "I've got something much more persuasive in mind."

Shit.

#######################

"I'll ask you nicely once, Jasper," I start, hoping desperately he's going to co-operate and I won't have to unleash the Vakarian, "who's hiring the Blue Suns to smuggle in this red sand? Where are the shipments coming from?"

"Fuck you," he spits defiantly, holding my gaze with a sharp glare. Bloody thugs…really, I'm doing this for you, mate.

"Look, if you don't tell me, my turian friend is going to be asking the questions. He's not quite as polite as me, if you get my meaning." I give him a wink. "So, start talking, please." Come on, co-operate!

"Turian friend?" he sneers. "Those aliens are bloody scum." Oh God, that was completely the wrong thing for him to say with Garrus around. "They ain't good for anything but cannon fodder for the Blue Suns."

Garrus is over in an instant, straight up in Thereon's face, mandibles parted and teeth bared. "I'm not sure I quite heard that," he growls. "Care to repeat yourself?" Jasper, thankfully, takes the hint and leaves it at that, though the sneer never leaves his face. I gently touch Garrus on the shoulder, and he lets go of the mercenary, blue eyes staring right through him, before retreating back to the wall he was initially leaning against. I've probably got one more chance to solve this peacefully, hopefully before Garrus kills him.

"Look, Jasper, you're not a big fish," I say, sounding exasperated. "We're after the person who hired the Blue Sun's services, not you. You tell us what we want to know, we'll do everything we can to lessen the charges against you." I actually feel physically ill offering him that kind of deal, considering this bastard would have killed thousands of people if it got him enough credits for some drink and a few lap dances off an asari. Still, I'd rather do this than beating it out of him.

"I ain't making a deal with you, _C-Sec._ You people can't be trusted, and I've got nothing to say to you." He sits there, looking incredibly pleased with himself. Then again, he did manage to actually make a sentence that didn't involve him swearing, so he's got something to be proud of. It's like talking to Zaeed, I swear to God…

"Fine." I'm usually pretty calm, but this guy's pushing even me. And I think I know just the guy to wipe that smug smile off his face. "He's all yours, Garrus."

The turian in question stretches his mandibles out and gives Jasper Thereon his best evil look. Again, I'm getting a definite Saren vibe off him when he does that…I'm not sure whether to be impressed or terrified.

"You can't do shit," he says, though the smirk on his face is considerably smaller and his voice is starting to crack a little bit. "You're cops, not bloody Spectres!"

Garrus looks over to the C-Sec team over by the other wall. "You three, secure the shipment in the basement." The two turians look at each other nervously.

"Sir, are you sure you can…"

"NOW!" he shouts, with a tremendous force that sends the two turians and human practically hurling themselves down the steps into the basement. Hell, I'm really not looking forward to this now…but someone has to stay to be a voice of reason to Garrus. That said, I doubt I'll be too effective when he's this pissed off, although he did say he wasn't going hit Jasper. Then again, I'm almost certain he's got something even more sadistic in store for the poor merc sitting in front of us.

Garrus reaches behind the bar, retrieving a bottle of some turian looking drink I can't pronounce the name of for the life of me. He sticks a talon through the cork and pops it out, before taking a little swig. Right, he appears to be getting pissed instead of interrogating the suspect. This isn't exactly what I had in mind by 'unleash the Vakarian'…suddenly, he opens his mouth to speak.

"Nice drink this," he says, smiling at Jasper, though the hatred in Garrus's eyes is obvious for everyone in the room to see. "Back on Palaven, this is _really _popular."

"What the fuck's he doing?" Thereon asks, the nervousness in his voice apparent. I say nothing back, although that's mainly because I have literally no idea myself.

"What am I doing? I'm offering you a drink, that's all," he says, smiling even wider.

"No thanks," Jasper says, sarcastically. "That's dextro-amino, I'll have a reaction."

"I know."

The Blue Suns mercenary's eyes widen and his mouth falls open as he realises what Garrus is suggesting.

"I don't know how much it'll take before you start to react," Garrus continues calmly, pacing around Jasper Thereon's chair. "I also don't know how much it'll take to kill you." He stops behind Thereon's head, leans next to his ear, and whispers just loud enough for me to hear. "Always interested to find out, though."

"You're bluffing," Jasper gasps, the panic is his voice blatant now. "You wouldn't dare. You could lose your jobs for this, no, you _will _lose your jobs for this."

"No-one's around to see me do it," Garrus whispers menacingly. He's far, far too good at this. "My word against yours. And I doubt my partner's going to take your side." I nod, albeit a bit reluctantly. I do not like where this is going. "So, Jasper," Garrus continues, still whispering into his ear, "who's the big supplier."

"I don't know!" he starts to splutter. "Nobody told me any…"

"Come on, you'll have to do better than that!" Garrus shouts, the switch between his silent tone and deafening bellow shocking both Thereon and myself. "Everyone in this room knows you've got the answers we need, it's just a matter of how long it takes for you to tell us!"

"I don't know!" Jasper continues to wail. "I swear!"

The turian shakes his head, readying the bottle. "You sure?"

Thereon nods his head furiously, but it's fairly obvious he's lying. Initially he said he wasn't going to talk, now he claims not to know anything. That's a pretty big contradiction.

"Wrong answer." Garrus forces the bottle up to Jasper's lips and lifts the bottle, causing about a shot-worth of liquid to get through, before tilting Thereon's head so he can't spit it out and is forced to swallow. The reaction can't be too bad at first, right? Hopefully this'll just give the mercenary the necessary kick to tell us the truth.

"Change your mind yet?" Garrus asks angrily, glaring at the mercenary shaking around in the seat in front of us. The dextro-amino drink is already having a noticeable effect, as his skin starts to rash along with him visibly beginning to shake. "I'll ask you again, who's the big supplier? We both know you know, so let's save us all some time and pain with you admitting."

He still shakes his head. "Don't…know…" he manages to gasp out, obviously in a world of pain.

"Have it your way," Garrus hisses, advancing with the bottle again.

"Garrus! You're going to kill him!" I shout. This is going way too far, way too quickly. However, the turian seems to have blocked out all exterior noise completely, forcing another shot down Jasper Thereon's throat before I can stop him. The reaction this time is almost instantaneous, Jasper begins convulsing rapidly and foam starts to form at the edges of his mouth. Shit, this isn't good!

"He's going to die if we can't get him medical attention! Come on, Garrus, snap out of it!" I may as well be talking to a brick wall.

"WHO'S THE SUPPLIER!" Garrus yells, expression on his face one of pure fury.

"His…name…is…Ricardo…Fernandez," Jasper finally manages to say, half gasping, half spluttering out the words in a sea of foam. "Lives…in…the 900…wards."

"Thank you!" Garrus shouts, hurling the bottle against the wall with a huge smash. Thereon doesn't even react, focusing more on the allergic reaction threatening to overcome his body. I've already summoned a medical team from my omni-tool, but I have literally no idea whether they're going to get here in time. Garrus stalks back over to the bar, keeping one eye on the merc restrained in front of us. What, he's not even going to help him! We need to have a serious fucking discussion after this…I dash over to Thereon, quickly releasing the handcuffs and placing him down on the floor in the recovery position, before applying medi-gel to him in an attempt to dull the pain. It doesn't seem to be working, though, as Jasper continues to fit on the ground in front of me.

"What the _fuck _were you thinking!" I yell at Garrus. "He could die! You could have killed our only lead!"

"I didn't," he snorts, "and I got the information. He's scum, death's too good for him."

"What are you saying? This isn't the Garrus Vakarian I've known for the past months! What the hell is wrong with you!"

The furious expression on his face slowly dies off as the adrenaline rush goes, and he finally realises what he's done. "By the Spirits…" he gasps. "I…I don't know what came over me. Ian, I'm so sorry."

"Save it," I mutter. "We can talk about it later. Right now, we've got bigger problems," I gesture at Thereon sprawled on the ground. I can't believe Garrus would do this…as soon as the medical team gets here, I'm going to sort out this Renegade habit of his as much as I bloody can.

"Right," Garrus replies unsteadily, expression of genuine regret as his mandibles droop and mouth opens apologetically. "I've got some medi-gel spare for him."

We both drop to out knees next to the mercenary, applying as much treatment as we can.

I'm not just fighting to save the merc's life here, I'm fighting to save Garrus from himself as well.

**A/N: Don't worry, this isn't the end of Ian and Garrus's friendship. But there'll be some serious talking to next chapter, before events escalate for the finale of this investigation with Ricardo Fernandez. And it won't happen how you'd probably expect it will…**

**So, anyway, when I got back from holiday and saw all the reviews you guys had left, it made me so happy. Reviews are the biggest reward a fanfic writer can get, it made my day SOOOO much reading them all. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, especially my elite consistent reviewing squad. I'll do shout-outs at the end of the fic, I promise you!**

**Again, this'll be the last chapter for about a week or so. I had a lovely time in the first holiday week, thanks for everyone who left reviews and messages asking how I got on, it's nice to be appreciated. So yeah, R&R (you don't need me to tell you that) and I'll see you in a week!**

**Have a good one.**

**Ian.**


	20. Redemption, Reports and Repercussions

Chapter 20

**A/N: Right, I'm back for real this time. So, in theory, this should mean more chapters and updates than before. HOWEVER, school work and stuff mean I probably won't be managing three chapters a week like I have previously. So expect maybe two chapters a week now. One if I'm seriously overloaded with coursework and stuff.**

**So yeah. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and stuff last chapter, the Garrus anger thing seemed to go down well ;-)**

**But enough of me rambling, time for the chapter!**

The med team arrived pretty quickly, and not a moment too soon, thank Christ. Thereon was an utter mess by the time they got to the club, he'd thrown up all over himself and the floor, one of his eyes had rolled back in its socket and he almost choked on his own tongue. Twice. Garrus and I used up all the medi-gel we had trying to keep him stable, but I honestly wasn't sure how much longer he'd have lasted if the medics hadn't shown up when they had. Garrus threw himself into trying to save Jasper, probably some kind of apology in his eyes, but that's really not going to cut it with me. I can't believe he'd do that…I haven't seen him that angry since the whole Sidonis thing, and this is actually pretty scary considering I'm seeing him in the flesh almost killing an unarmed man. I'm going to have to do a little intervention with him after all this mess is cleaned up…a paragon Shepard should deal with all this stuff with him, but I'm not prepared to wait for a year and a bit for him to deal with his issues.

"What the hell happened here?" a female voice says behind me, jolting me out of my thoughts. That voice sounds very familiar…

"Rebecca!" Any worries I had disappear as I swivel around and see my girlfriend's face grinning coyly at me. We both rush towards each other, and embrace.

"What are you doing here?" I finally say, when we break apart.

"Erm…my job." She gestures at the general chaos next to us. "Your job is to blow shit up, mine's to clean it up, right?"

"Something like that," I laugh. "You know, I did get shot. I'm going to need medical attention later. Preferably yours."

She shakes her head. "Subtlety never was your strong point, was it?"

"Case in point," I reply, pointing her back towards the mess of broken tables, bodies, charred walls and minor fires going on around us. "I can't take all the credit, though. Garrus did more than his fair share as well."

"Yeah," she smiles, before suddenly frowning. "Actually, what's wrong with Garrus? I saw him skulking over in a corner when I walked in, normally you two and joined at the hip or something."

"It's complex…" I start, but Rebecca just glares at me. Damn, when she wants to know something, she WILL know something. And I'd rather not have her pissed off as well as my partner and best mate. "Fine," I sigh. "The official report is going to say that Jasper Thereon tried to kill himself during an interrogation by consuming a dextro-amino drink after we loosened his restraints after he complained they were hurting him."

"Right," she nods. "So why is Garrus so angry? Did you not get any information from Thereon? Is he upset because the suspect almost got killed?"

I hold up my hands against the barrage of questions. "We got plenty of information. But Thereon never did get loose, or try to kill himself. Garrus forced him to have the drink to try and get him to talk."

Rebecca recoils slightly in horror. "Oh my God, that's terrible!" she says, a bit loudly for my taste.

"Keep it down!" I hiss. "You can't tell _anyone _about this. Garrus'll lose his job if it gets back to Pallin!"

"I know," she says, still looking horrified. "It's just…well, I've known Garrus for months now. I didn't think he'd ever do something like that, of all people!"

"I know what you mean. He just let his feelings get in the way of his judgement." She doesn't look convinced. Great, now she probably thinks my best friend's a total psychopath. "You know what he's like, Rebecca! How he feels about justice and stuff! It was like he was possessed, after he realised what he'd done he kept on apologising. He's genuinely sorry for it."

She looks thoughtful for a moment, then locks eyes with me again. "You need to go and talk to him. Now."

Shit, right now? "Don't you think we should give him some time to deal with this himself?"

"Ian, you're his best friend. You let him keep going on like this, it's going to tear him apart eventually. Seriously, go and talk to him."

I sigh. She is, annoyingly, right. That isn't going to make facing off against a seven foot tall, clawed, pissed-off alien any easier though. Then again, I'm not sure whether I'm more afraid of Garrus, or what Rebecca will do if I don't go and see him.

"Alright," I sigh. "I'm going. But if he rips my head off, you better be there to sew it back on, alright?"

She smirks as I walk over to the turian scowling at the floor in the corner.

* * *

Well, this ought to be fun. I imagine this is kind of what Shepard feels like before going to talk to Wrex on Virmire…a mix of trepidation, slight fear and the weight of the consequences of the imminent conversation weighing on his or her shoulders. Why couldn't I have got an easy job in this universe? Being a shopkeeper wouldn't have been so bad. Something involving less murder, gunfire and general stress-inducing factors.

"You alright, mate?" I say to Garrus, putting on my best cheerful voice. I'd have got more response from an elcor. He keep on staring at the floor, mandibles slack around the edge of his mouth. Different approach needed…

"You want to talk about anything?"

"I'm fine," he mutters. "Go away." I guess that's kind of progress, albeit not exactly what I wanted. I look back over to Rebecca and shrug, but she just glares at me. Fuck.

"Garrus, eventually you're going to have to deal with it. What happened to you?"

"I'm dealing with it," he says, sounding a little angry now. "Leave me alone."

"You know what, I'm fucking sick of you feeling sorry for yourself!" The words come out of nowhere, before I can think about what I'm saying. Garrus tilts his head to look at me, blue eyes narrowing.

"What?" Shit, I can't back out now…looks like I'm going to have to go all or nothing.

"You almost killed a major suspect in a huge investigation, used torture to gain information, then act like you're the victim! Give it a fucking rest, Garrus! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I told you," he growls. "I lost my temper. I won't do it again, and I'm sorry about how far it went."

"You don't get it, Garrus!" I shout. A few heads swivel around to look at us, so I lower my voice back down. "You didn't just hurt Thereon back there! I trust you more than anyone else, but you pulling stunts like that makes me feel physically ill. Rebecca is worried sick about you, you could have lost your job, Garrus!"

"I…" he starts, but his voice just dies and he slumps down to sit against the wall, mouth hanging open and mandibles slightly parted. God, I do feel really bad for him…but this is the only way he's going to be able to get his problems. "I didn't think about it like that," he finally says, though all the anger in his voice has been replaced by regret.

"Exactly, mate. You don't think." I soften my voice for his benefit. "You're letting your emotions get in the way of your better judgement, and it's hurting everyone around you." His face is a mask of sadness now, and he keeps on staring at the floor, probably wishing it would swallow him up. "Look at me, Garrus!" The sudden rise in my voice's volume knocks him out of his trance, and he stares at me. "This isn't you. The Garrus Vakarian I know is fair, just and a damn good friend. When you get like you did before…" I shake my head. "I don't want to know you. You're your own worst enemy, Garrus." His gaze stays steadily on mine, but his mandibles are wobbling and drooping slightly and his mouth is slightly widened. I actually think this is working… "Question is, are you prepared to do something about it?" I reach out my hand to pull him up from his seated position.

"You're right." He says, the new steel in his voice saying more than words ever could. "This isn't me." His talon grips my hand, and I hoist him up. "Ian…I'm so sorry. I swear, I'll make it up to you."

"Don't mention it," I reply back, smiling calmly whilst inwardly jumping for joy that he came around. Garrus Vakarian is back, and now Rebecca's not going to kill me for not talking him round! Epic win! "You can buy me a drink sometime, I'm just glad you're back."

"I never left," he grins, surveying the destruction spread out before us. "Can't say I'm not effective when I'm pissed off, though."

I barely stifle laughter. "Seriously, don't even joke about that. Thereon's barely breathing and we've caused a lot of property damage. Again."

"More or less than the time we blew up the elcor ambassador?"

"I'm not sure I want to know." Rebecca waves to us both. "Come on, Rebecca's probably still worried about you. Besides, we've got a report to make to Pallin, she can give us a lift back to C-Sec."

"Spirits…" Garrus groans. "I almost forgot about Pallin. Facing down thirty mercs is definitely more appealing than facing down the Executor."

"Too right," I mutter. God, it's good to have him back.

* * *

The ride back to C-Sec wasn't too eventful, mostly Rebecca fussing over Garrus and the 'incident' (as she keeps referring to it as.) Garrus spent almost the entire journey trying to change the subject and deflect questions, with limited success. By the time we touch down outside the front of C-Sec, he's practically scratching at the cruiser doors in an attempt to escape. Poor guy does find Rebecca a bit intense sometimes.

"It's been nice talking to you," he manages to say, as he practically dives out of the cruiser. Rebecca gives him a wide smile, he gives her one back, then rolls his eyes at me when he turns away.

"After we've reported to Pallin, Garrus and I are off duty," I say to her as Garrus stalks off into the building. "Pallin'll send in a few officers to arrest the guy Thereon gave us, Ricardo Fernandez. Which means we've got all night." I give her a grin. "You want to come round to our place? I'll make you dinner or something, we can all watch a vid?"

"Sure," she replies cheerily. "Give me a call when you're done and I'll come by."

"Cool." I kiss her on the cheek, and start to walk off towards C-Sec.

"Ian!" she shouts to me. I turn around, and she's giving me a coy look. "That's all I get?" She leans over and pulls me into a full kiss, lasting for a few seconds, before letting go, eyes sparkling. God, I love her!

"Go get 'em," she winks at me. "I'll see you later."

"Right," I say, still thrown slightly off my stride by the kiss. "Yeah, later…" I say, as she laughs at my surprise and pulls away in the cruiser.

"_That's all I get?_" a flanging voice mimics from behind me. I swivel round to see Garrus smirking at me. "Humans are pathetic."

"Fuck you," I reply, smiling back, and punch him lightly on the arm. "We'd better not keep Pallin waiting."

* * *

When we walk into Pallin's office a few minutes later, he's actually happy to see us. "Ian! Garrus!" he says in a friendly tone as we walk in. "I heard what happened at Club Ramrod!" Oh God, I bet the friendliness is just him taking the piss…

"Look, sir, they started shooting at us first, I swear…" I begin, almost instinctively springing to defence.

"I know," he smiles. "You two did an excellent job, dealing with that many hostiles with no casualties. There weren't even any major injuries on our side, either!"

"I did get shot, sir," I point out.

"Like I said, no major injuries," he continues, brushing my comment to the side. "I also heard about the interrogation. I can't believe that mercenary tried to kill himself…"

Yeah, kill himself… "I know, right?" Garrus laughs, a little nervously. "He was pretty crazy."

"But using a dextro-amino drink? It takes a pretty sadistic bastard to think of something like that!" Pallin says, oblivious to Garrus's discomfort. Time for me to change the subject!

"We did manage to get some information from him before he got loose," I interrupt. "He gave us a name, Ricardo Fernandez, said he lived in the 900 blocks. Is that any use?"

"Perfect, I'll get people on it straight away." Pallin looks me and Garrus up and down, then breaks into the largest grin I've ever seen him give anyone. "Excellent work out there, you two. I thought we'd be up to our necks in red sand and corpses, but once again you've done the impossible." What the fuck? Pallin's in an amazing mood today. Still, best take advantage of it while it lasts.

"Not exactly impossible, sir," Garrus says, a bit bashfully. "Just another day at the office."

"I don't care what you call it," Pallin waves Garrus's modesty away with a talon, "it's impressive. You two head home and get some rest, you've earned it. We can deal with all the fallout from this tomorrow."

"Thanks," I say, barely able to believe our luck. I guess Pallin is just relieved the crisis was averted…though I doubt we'll ever see him like this again. Maybe someone slipped some Hallex into his coffee or something, I don't know. "We'll do that."

"Well done," he calls as we leave the room. "I'll be mentioning your outstanding work in my report!"

The door slides shut behind us, and Garrus and I both look at each other. "What's up with him?" I ask. Garrus just shrugs.

"I think he's just happy we managed to save him the trouble of dealing with a station filled of people dying from drug poisoning," he muses. "It's not really that important. I'm more interested in finding out why the hell this Fernandez person's been causing all this."

"Too right." That's an excellent point, we still don't know the motive for all this…though I imagine it'll become swiftly apparent when Ricardo Fernandez is brought into custody. "We can ask him that when he's in a holding cell. Right now, all I want to do is get home and eat. I'm bloody starving."

"Agreed," Garrus mutters. "You can cook for Rebecca when she comes around, distract from talking to me about my 'issues'." He does the air quotes. "How you can talk to her for beyond ten minutes is completely beyond me, never mind having a full relationship with each other."

"Suit yourself," I reply. "Let's go. I've done enough work today to last me a lifetime." I wish…though Saren and the geth don't seem to tough after some of the shit I've been dealing with for the past few months. That's for later, though. Right now all I want to do is eat, watch a vid and see my girlfriend.

* * *

"Shit, that's not gone well."

Rebecca, Garrus and I are staring at what was supposed to be a handmade pizza, and actually looks like a krogan's been sick onto a really crap pizza base. It certainly isn't the culinary delight I'd envisioned.

"It's alright," Rebecca giggles. "We can always order in, or something. There's a nice place nearby, get some salarian food…"

"No, damn it!" I say, sticking to my guns. "I'll go and buy some more ingredients, try it again. Only the finest food for you," I smile at Rebecca. She smiles back, Garrus mimes being sick behind her.

"You want me to come with you?" she asks.

"Nah, you stay here with Garrus. I'm sure you've got a lot to talk about, and I wouldn't mind a few minutes fresh air just to think."

"Okay," she shrugs. "Don't be too long though. He a psycho," she whispers mockingly into my ear.

"Don't," I laugh. "Seriously, I'll be five minutes."

"I'll look after her for you Ian," Garrus says, smirking a bit. Oh God, what's he got planned. "I've got a _really _interesting story about your boyfriend, extranet search engines, and turians." Motherfucker! I knew he wouldn't forget that!

"Don't believe anything he says!" I shout, as I walk out the door, shaking my head. "It's all lies!" I practically jog down the street towards the food store, whistling The A Team theme tune as I walk for no particular reason. Everything's gone so well today…we manage to stop a massacre, I sort out Garrus's Renegade problem, and my loving girlfriend is waiting for me back at out apartment being told a dirty joke by my best friend. For somewhere I'm not supposed to be, where I shouldn't even exist, life is good.

"Ian ******?" A flanging voice from behind me says, and it's not Garrus. I swivel round to see a two burly turians standing behind me.

"Yeah?" This doesn't seem right, my hand slides towards my non-existent pistol holster. Shit, I left it in the apartment! There's no way I'll be able to prepare an Incinerate in time… "What do you want?"

The turian lifts up a small, ugly object, resembling a pistol, and before I can react shoots a small dart like projectile into my arm. What the fuck…my vision starts to go blurry extremely quickly, and my legs suddenly feel incredibly weak…I collapse to the floor, as blackness starts encroaching from the edge of my vision.

"Ricardo Fernandez sends his regards," one of the turians says, voice sounding far away yet echoing around my head. The other one slings me over his shoulder and carries me over to what looks vaguely like a cruiser…my eyes are starting to droop shut, I can't move any of limbs, I feel incredibly tired…

The turian drops me into the cruiser's trunk, and it's the last thing I see and feel before I pass out and the darkness takes me.

**A/N: Holy shit, what? I know, everything in this chapter seemed to be going so well, and BAM! The investigation isn't done yet…we've still got one more chapter to go before this case's epilogue.**

**As usual, thanks to all the reviewers, readers and all that. I know I say it every chapter, but it really does mean a lot to me. So, R&R, and I'll see you next chapter. Am I going to put a preview in for it? No, that would spoil the surprise…**


	21. Bosses, Beatings and Bullets

Chapter 21

**A/N: I'm not setting a precedent here, updating this quickly. This is more of a treat considering my long abscence recently...plus this chapter pretty much wrote itself. I'm gonna be real busy with school stuff soon, so I won't be updating anywhere _near _as quickly next time. Just so you know.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

The sudden jolt of the cruiser touching down brings me around, albeit not to my full capacity. Everything's still blurred, sounds stretch and distort, and time seems to jump around erratically. And the exhaustion. I can't move any of my limbs, even blinking takes a superhuman effort. Then the memories come flooding back, the turian shooting me, being dumped into the cruiser, something about Ricardo Fernandez…throughout the blur of my thoughts, emotions and senses, one single thought drives through with absolute clarity.

I'm seriously in the shit.

Someone opens up the trunk cover, the sudden influx of light blinding me temporarily, though the pain is dulled through the haze of whatever I was drugged with. The two turians both stare down at me, then suddenly I'm being carried along by two pairs of talons. They're talking, the flanging voices just recognisable above the persistent buzzing in my ears.

"_Ricardo…wants to see…now," _one says, the other nodding the affirmative in response. So, I must be at Fernandez's hideout…and I doubt it's to chat about the weather and politics. Time suddenly jolts again, as I'm brought into a darkened room, plastic chair in the centre with one lonely bulb casting a circle of light onto it. The turians dump me onto the chair, and I feel restraints biting into my wrists and ankles as I'm tied to it.

"_Wake him up," _a new voice says from somewhere within the darkness. The voice is clearer now as the drug starts wearing off…then a huge splash of cold water slams into my body and face, completely dispelling the drug's effects and jolting my body straight up in the chair instinctively.

"That's better," the voice mutters, sounding as if it's getting closer. "We wouldn't want our guest to sleep through what we've got in store for him."

I spit the freezing cold water out of my mouth. "Let me guess. Ricardo Fernandez?"

"Very good, detective." The man himself walks into the light, clapping his hands in a mocking fashion. He's about six feet tall, clean shaven with a short, brown, military hairstyle, dressed in a casual civilian outfit, handcannon pistol strapped to his belt. As my vision adjusts to the general darkness, I see the two turians have left, presumably to stand guard, leaving just Ricardo and an armoured asari leaning against a wall at the back of the room. "Or would you prefer Ian?"

I ignore the blatant jibe. The man has an incredibly annoying voice…a mix of Irving from Resident Evil 5, and someone who would do voice-overs for cartoons. In short, he's the perfect image of a villain everyone really, _really _hates. "Where am I? What the hell do you want?" I mutter.

"Straight to the point, I see." He laughs. "I like that. Still, you've got no way of escaping here, so I may as well return the favour. You're in a hideout in the 900 blocks on the Citadel, and I want to know everything you do about my little operation. Then, I want to kill you as an example to all your little C-Sec friends." He smirks in a particularly arrogant manner. "I thought this out, as you can tell."

"How did you find me?" I need to keep him talking, try to work out how to get out of here…

"It wasn't hard. Everyone has their price, even C-Sec officers. A bit of bribery goes a long way, I assure you. Finding the human officer who took down an entire mercenary unit wasn't too hard. Tracking you down was even easier," he replies, smugly. "But we're not here for me to answer your questions." Fuck. "I've got a few things I want to check with you, whether you'd like to answer them or not."

"Torture. You certainly tick all the boxes for originality, don't you?"

He laughs, mostly to himself, before suddenly rushing forward and delivering a punch straight to the centre of my face, busting my nose and making my eyes water in pain as warm blood rushes down my face. I think he broke it…shit, that absolutely wrecks!

"I don't appreciate jokes being made at my expense. Especially by someone in such a perilous position as yours. And no, I'm not going to torture you, as much fun as that would be. People will say anything under torture, try to get the pain to end. It's hideously inaccurate, and I've got much better methods." He gestures at the asari at the back of the room. Oh God, I see where this is going… "She will meld with you and get all the information I need. After that, _then _I might torture you. C-Sec will find your remains in the morning as a warning."

"You're insane!" I shout. "What the hell are you trying to accomplish with the poisoned red sand? Why'd you do it?"

"Shut up!" he snaps, storming back over and delivering a backhand to my face, whipping my head around and stinging my cheek. "You don't ask the questions here, remember?" Another punch, this time to my stomach and causing me to spit out blood. "My asari friend needs me to soften up your mental defences for her, then we'll find out everything you know."

"Come on," I manage to splutter out, blood spraying from my lips onto the floor. "You don't want to tell me why you did it? Your last chance to gloat in the face of your enemy?"

He draws his hand back for another punch, then suddenly steps back, looking thoughtful. "You know, that's not a bad idea," he says, grinning a little manically. "Fine. I've been living on the Citadel for years now, every day seeing the leech on society that is the red sand junkie. Drawing on Council resources, taking our tax credits, fuelling a culture of crime and murder in the lower wards." He spits on the floor. "Those people are a plague on the rest of us, bringing us down in a mess of death and addiction. Without them, the Citadel, the entire galaxy would be saved so much money, so much despair, and end to the petty crime they cause. Can't you see it?" He looks at me, slight desperation in his eyes. "And I am the cure to this plague. Manufacturing the poisonous version of red sand took time, but then all the best plans do. The Blue Suns were more than prepared to bring the supply in for me for a considerable fee. Poor bastards thought they were the ones ripping me off," he laughs. "It was perfect."

"What about all the people who are just trying red sand once? Peer pressured into it? Think about the tens of thousands of innocents who'd die!"

He delivers a full right hook, knocking one of my teeth out, causing pain to erupt in my mouth. I black out for a second, then come round to see Ricardo's face pressed up against mine.

"I should have known you'd be so short-sighted," he growls. "I'm not destroying the Citadel, I'm saving it!"

"You've completely lost it," I spit back, still managing to grin contemptuously through all the pain. "We stopped your supply. The merc you employed to smuggle the red sand is in C-Sec custody. You're done, Ricardo!"

That snaps his already fragile temper. With a yell, he charges forward and knocks me and the chair to the ground, then stands on my neck and starts to press down with his heel.

"I can make more," he says, smiling manically. "You got lucky once, it won't happen again." I can't breathe… "Soon, I'll know everything you know, and I won't make the same mistakes." He steps off, and I draw in huge breaths, coughing and spluttering at the sudden intake of oxygen. Fernandez chuckles to himself and signals to the asari in the corner.

"He's ready."

I'm bruised, beaten and exhausted, in no state to fight off a mental attack from an asari. The alien in question approaches, smiling to herself softly. Wait, if she melds with me, she's going to see everything! Who I am, where I come from…no, no!

"Seriously, this isn't a good idea. You're going to regret this!" I manage to gasp out through my aching body.

"Nobody asked you for an opinion," Ricardo snarls, then turns his attention back to the asari. "Do it."

Shit, this can't happen! She stands over me, then her eyes roll back and she grabs my shoulder, our eyes inseparably locked together. "Embrace eternity!"

Everything in the room whites out, changed instead to images from my memory flashing by, like some kind of Intersect. My family, graduating from university, athletics training, doing parcour with my mates…and playing Mass Effect. I can feel the asari inside my head, then her utter shock at what she's seeing. I feel the presence trying to leave, and I mentally scream out instinctively, causing the images to suddenly change.

_The machine, the Reaper, screaming, the pure destruction going on around it. Aliens clutching each other close as their world is torn apart around them, consumed by the synthetic beast bearing down on them. The insides of the Reaper appear, roaring growing to a crescendo…then the Collectors, quick flashes of static images, then the rotating DNA strands…a human figure stands as a gigantic explosion lights up the sky around them, the Reaper screaming in what sounds like pain, now. Then another human, silhouetted yet evidently someone different, falling to the ground, the Reaper's screech of triumph echoing around my head…_

As suddenly as it began, I'm back in the room, feeling slightly disorientated and nauseous. However, I'm doing a hell of a lot better than the asari. She staggers back, clutching at her skull, screaming at the top of her lungs as her eyes roll back in their sockets. Holy shit, the vision…she wasn't mentally strong enough for it! She collapses to the floor, convulsing, as the screams gradually die and the convulsions draw to a halt. Both Ricardo and I stare at the corpse, look of horror on his face, before he slowly drags his gaze back around to me. Oh, shit.

"What did you do to her?"

"I don't know."

"What. Did. You. Do."

"I don't know!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" he screams, lunging forwards and knocking me down again, throwing punch after punch at my face and chest. The pain grows and grows, the world seems to spin around me after each hit. The beating last for what seems like an eternity, before finally I feel his weight lifting off my chest. One of my eyes feels like it's on fire and I can't even open it, I can't feel my nose, and I'm having trouble breathing. I think he broke a rib…if not all of them.

"You've left me no choice," he rants, heading over to the corner where I hear the sounds of metal implements being shuffled around. "Torture might be inaccurate, but at least I get some results. And some enjoyment."

He comes back into my shaking vision, wielding what looks like a pair of pliers. "I'm going to start by tearing off your eyelid, then watch as you slowly turn blind. Then you're going to tell me everything you know, and what you just did. Then I'm going to rip you apart, limb by fucking limb."

"Go to hell," I just manage to force out.

"I'm sure I will," he chuckles. "But I've got a little while before that happens." He leans in with the pliers, opening and closing them menacingly. "I'll see you there."

I shake around in the restraints, desperately trying to break free. This isn't how I'm going to end! I prepare to try and spit in his face, some final act of defiance, before the unbelievable happens.

A huge explosion rocks the room, and the door caves in and flies into the other wall. Three armoured officers hurtle into the room with assault rifles, opening fire on Ricardo on sight. Two rounds go through his abdominal, and he goes straight down to the ground. One more, less armoured turian runs in after them, eyepiece glowing in the darkness. Garrus!

"Ian!" he yells, rushing over and starting to untie the restraints while the other officers head to secure the area. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"Do I fucking look alright?" I manage to splutter out, as he heaves me back onto my feet. I'm crying now, with all the pain, fear and sheer relief to see Garrus here.

"No, you look like shit," he admits, before breaking into a wide smile. "It's alright, you're safe. We've got you."

"How…how did you find me?" I sniff.

"We traced your omni-tool. The idiots never took it off you."

"Thank Christ…" Another concern jumps straight to the front of my mind. "Where's Rebecca? Is she alright?"

"She's back at C-Sec, worried sick, of course. Shit, we all were, Ian. As soon as we noticed you'd been gone too long, Rebecca and I did the trace and got a team here as soon as we could. Looks like we got here just in time..."

"Yeah, you did. I need to go see Rebecca, right now, tell her I'm alright."

"You need a hospital, Ian! You look half dead!"

"I feel it too, but I need to see her, Garrus."

"Alright," he lifts up his talons. "I won't stop you." He looks a bit thoughtful, then gives me a cheeky wink. "Does this count as me making it up to you about the whole Jasper Thereon thing?"

"Yeah, I guess it does." I look down at Fernandez's corpse. "I'm just glad to…" Wait, that's definitely not a corpse! Ricardo's managed to reach down to his belt, unholster his pistol, and is now aiming it straight at Garrus. He's not dead! The assault rifle shots didn't finish him!

Time slows to a crawl as the scenarios play out in my mind at breakneck speed, pain completely forgotten. Ricardo has a handcannon, and even though Garrus is armoured, it's weak, basic stuff, and a handcannon round will rip straight through the barriers and kill him. Even if I had a gun, there's no way I'd be able to draw and fire before Fernandez shoots Garrus. There's also no way I'll be able to warn either Garrus or any of the other officers before he fires the shot.

So, there's only one thing I can do.

"Garrus!" I shout, diving at him full force and rugby tackling him to the ground just as Fernandez fires twice, and I hear a thud against the wall as the bullets impact it. The C-Sec team swivel around at the gunshots, lighting Ricardo Fernandez up with assault rifle fire before he can try again. His body convulses at the sheer volume of rounds entering it, before he finally lies still. Garrus rolls straight back up onto his feet, but I'm too physically exhausted to get back up.

"Spirits…Ian!" Garrus shouts, dashing back over to me and sliding the last metre on his knees to kneel next to me. What? I thought he'd be a bit more grateful considering I just saved his life…I follow his eyes, down to the point on my chest where a rapidly growing circle of blood is growing out of a small hole where my heart is. Oh…shit…everything suddenly turns incredibly cold, despite the fact the Citadel is always kept at an optimum temperature for all species. The colour's draining out of my vision…Garrus is still kneeling over me, shouting something into my face. That's funny, he's shouting, but his voice sounds so distant…

"Just hold on, Ian! Help's coming!"

What are you talking about, just hold on? I'm just a bit tired, Garrus, I just need some rest. Thirty seconds, and I'll be back on my feet…my eyelids droop, and I see moisture start to form at the edges of Garrus's eyes. What's he crying for? I just need some sleep, mate…just a minute's rest. My vision narrows to slits, everything black and white now, temperature absolutely freezing and an eerie silence descends upon the room. Just two minutes rest…that's all I need, just a few minutes.

My eyes close completely, I feel like I'm falling down, constantly falling, oddly at peace with everything around me…

Then nothing.

**A/N: That's the end of the red sand investigation. I know, that's a bombshell to end it on. But this isn't the end of Masses to Masses, not by a long shot…but I won't give it away. Suffice to say, we have a pretty good investigation epilogue coming up, then the Dr. Saeleon case (which will be the final full investigation in Masses to Masses 1, before we do the full epilogue and then start Mass Effect 1 in Masses to Masses 2.)**

**Now the investigation's over, I would really appreciate to hear how my off-canon case went down. So review, y'all, or I'll have Ricardo Fernandez shoot you in an incredibly tragic fashion as well.**

**Until next chapter…have a good one.**


	22. Hallucinations and Hospitals

Chapter 22

**A/N: So much for not setting a precedent…to quote Herr Wozzeck, the 'plot bunnies' keep attacking, and I find myself drawn back to the keyboard.**

**Well, Ian got shot up real good last chapter. Which is bad. So now, we deal with the aftermath of that happening. It's gonna get dramatic, so enjoy!**

I shoot up in the bed, gasping in huge lungfulls of air and clutching at my chest where the bullet wound is. What the hell happened? I got shot, everything faded out, I was falling…and now I'm here, feeling very much alive and on edge. There's a dull throbbing where the wound is, and my chest is covered in bandages. There's a drip sticking into my arm…various machines beeping besides me. Looks like some kind of hospital. None of the lights are on, so it must be the Citadel's night cycle. Shit, I wonder if I can call a doctor or something, find out what's going on…

"Good, you're awake," a familiar voice says from the end of the bed. I focus through the darkness…and Rebecca is sitting on the edge of the mattress, seductive smile on her face, and wearing an _extremely _revealing outfit. Okay, this is weird…not that I'm complaining, or anything.

"Rebecca," I groan. The wound throbs when I talk, but I persevere anyway. "Am I dead? Is this a dream?"

"No," she says, slowly crawling up the bed towards me. "You're alive, and this isn't a dream."

"You look amazing…" She grins even wider, continuing her way up to me. "How did you get in here?"

"Snuck in after everyone else had left. Heavy risk, but the prize…" she winks at me, hands now onto my chest. Is she quoting Jacob Taylor? That's a bit odd...but I push it to the back of my mind. Rebecca sitting on top of me now, smiling down into my face. I look up at her, the woman I've grown to love over the past months, and realise I can't keep lying to her like this.

"Rebecca…there's something I need to tell you." She looks confused. "I'm not from this universe. I was brought here from Earth in the year 2010 by an asari, in my universe all this is a video game. I've been having these visions, the future, the galaxy's destruction…"

She lifts a finger and puts it on my lips. "It's alright, Ian. I want you for who you are now, not where you came from."

What? "You're not even surprised? Not even a little bit?" She shakes her head, still smiling away. "Are you sure I'm not dreaming?"

"No, Ian, this isn't a dream." Rebecca reaches behind her back, and when her hand comes back around she's clutching a huge kitchen knife. What the shit? The machines around me start beeping frantically, some starting to flatline…I struggle madly, but I'm locked underneath her and there's nothing I can do…

"It's a nightmare." The knife lunges forward, striking me in the exact spot where the bullet hit me, exploding the world around me in pain. My vision flashes white, then the visions flare up again, more intense then ever before. It physically feels like I'm there, feeling the heat of the explosions and destruction around me, the Reaper's screams and screeches shaking my brain inside my skull and mingling with my own yells of pain and despair. It goes on and on, images gradually repeating faster and faster, building up to a cacophony of noises, a blur of images…then suddenly, blackness.

I'm underwater, floating around in the darkness, unable to draw in breath while my lungs scream for oxygen. I blindly strike out, pushing up as fast as I can in a straight line, heading for the surface yet completely unable to see my goal through the inky blackness…

"_Human," _Harbinger's voice echoes through my ears, shaking the water around me. "_You can change nothing, you fight something infintley your greater. Your struggle is over."_ Harbinger? I'm tripping out! I kick towards the surface, edges of my vision dying as my body craves oxygen, but it feels like the water's dragging me down, something pulling at my legs, the water trying to keep me to itself.

"_Your fight is over, human. Give up, and it will be painless. Just let go, back into peace."_

Peace…would it be so bad? Just stop fighting, go back to where I came, at peace with everything around me, floating in the tranquil waters for eternity…my arms gradually stop pushing, my legs stop kicking, and I feel myself falling back down into the depths…

"_IAN!" _Another voice rips through the darkness, this one casting a single light from above me, showing the water's surface. Rebecca, Garrus…I can't just give up, she needs me…there's still so much I need to know, so much I have to do, people relying on me…It's not my time. Not yet. With newfound strength, I push back towards the surface, kicking and pushing as hard as I can. Harbinger roars behind me, the pulling at my legs increasing in force, but I'm gradually getting closer and closer to the water's surface…every fibre in my body is screaming at me to breathe in, get oxygen, but I keep going, even as my brain slowly starts to shut down and my vision starts to black out.

"_We're partners, remember?" _I hear Garrus saying, seeing his face smiling back at me from the first day we met. I keep pushing forward, unable to see, legs and arms burning…

The kiss with Rebecca comes back, seeing her grinning at me from the cruiser. "_Go get 'em," _she whispers, my hands break through the surface, Harbinger's roar fills the water below me…my head breaks the surface and I open my mouth to breathe in…

##########

I shoot up in the bed, gasping in huge lungfulls of air and looking frantically around me again. Still in a hospital, but this one's well lit, my girlfriend isn't sitting on the edge of the bed with a bloody huge kitchen knife, and there's a whole squad of medical staff milling around my bed with datapads and medical equipment, all looking incredibly concerned.

"He's awake! Somebody get him back down in that bed!" A salarian doctor rushes over to me, forcing me back down into the bed with a surprisingly strong grip.

"Ian? Can you hear me?"

The bullet wound is throbbing intensely, and the initial shock of waking up is suddenly replaced by overwhelming exhaustion, as the combined effect of everything that's happened hit me. The anaesthetic they must have used on me, combined with the detrimental effects of being shot in the chest by a handcannon mean I offer no resistance as I'm pushed down into the pillow and mattress.

"Yeah, I can hear," I manage to mumble. "Am I dead?" I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice if this is another dream!

"No, you're not dead." The ghost of a smile edges onto the salarian's face. "Though by all rights, you should be. That bullet you took went through a major artery just above your heart, you lost enough blood to kill a krogan. Whatever God you've got must be keeping a pretty close eye on you, because in all my years I've never seen anyone survive anything like that."

"I'm an atheist," I mutter, to the salarian's evident amusement. "And I don't feel too lucky," I point to the bandage covering the hole in my chest. "This hurts like a bitch. How long was I out?"

"Around two days. You were comatose, then suddenly a massive surge in brain activity and REM, and here we are. We weren't sure if you were even going to get up, then suddenly all your readings went off the charts. What the hell happened?" I'm pretty sure that's what happened to Shepard when he/she got the Prothean vision on Eden Prime…better cover myself.

"It's weird…I felt like I was swimming, trying to get to the surface, but something was dragging me back down…" It's a half-truth, I suppose.

"Normal for the brain to try and rationalise the internal struggle between life and death," the doctor says, somewhat non-chalantly. "Still, the readings were extremely high for that."

"It was pretty vivid," I say, trying to push him off the subject. That 'dream' is the last thing I want to remember right now. "What do you mean, you didn't think I was going to wake up? How close was it?"

The doctor looks uncomfortable when I ask that. "Well…you were clinically dead for two minutes, then you were almost flatlining for a little while afterwards. Like I said, it's a miracle you're still here. That bullet did some serious damage. You won't be in shootouts for a little while now, I assure you. You'll be fit for duty again in a few months, but until then you need to rest up, and heal up."

"Whoa, hold up. I DIED?" Shit, that's crazy…for two minutes I was dead. That's an incredibly scary reality-check for my view on mortality…I've been running around the Citadel blowing stuff up and getting into violent shootouts for months without too much care, but I actually died this time. That's a little worrying.

"Technically, yes. Be grateful it wasn't permanent and we managed to revive you."

"Believe me, I am. More than words can say."

"I don't doubt it. Your two friends certainly tried putting into words for you, though," he grins.

Wait…"Garrus and Rebecca? They're here?"

"Oh, no," he suddenly says, realising my intentions and backing off towards the door as if trying to block me from reaching it, despite the fact I'm clearly in no fit state to move. "They've been told you're awake, but there's extensive tests we need to run before you're in a fit state to take visitors…"

"Just five minutes, doctor. Please."

He looks torn between his head and his heart, before finally relenting with a sigh. "Fine, five minutes. And not a moment longer!" The door slides open, and Rebecca and Garrus hurtle into the room, practically knocking the salarian doctor to the floor and standing by my bedside within seconds. Rebecca's eyes are red from crying as she hurls her arms around my neck and rests her head on my shoulder, silently sobbing away.

"Hey, it's alright!" I say, comfortingly, returning the hug with my free arm. "I'm okay, don't cry!" It's not very effective, as she continues the hug, shifting her weight onto the bullet wound slightly and making me wince in pain, but I keep the hug going for both our sakes. "I'm fine!"

She suddenly breaks away, standing back and still crying, though the expression on her face changes from sadness to fury. "No, Ian, you're not _fucking _fine!" she shouts. "You got shot, hell, you were dead! For two minutes! I thought you were gone…" the sudden anger turns back to sorrow as she loses her composure again and collapsing back on top of me, causing the bullet pain to flare up again.

"Don't think about that," I whisper into her ear, "I'm here now. That's all that matters."

"When you didn't come back from the shop…" she sobs, "I got so worried. Garrus took us to C-Sec, they traced you, thought you were being tortured…it was supposed to be the perfect evening, we were going to have dinner, I was about to ask you to move in with me, then you get tortured and shot!"

Wait, what was that? "You want me to move in with you?"

She sniffs, the tears holding back, though the floodgates look ready to open at any moment. "It was gonna be a big surprise, I'd already talked about it with Garrus, he said he was fine with it all and he'd help you move. But then all this happened…" she gestures at the machines beeping and the drip attached to my arm.

I stare at the girl pouring her heart out in front of me, and it hits me how much I love her. Ever since we met, the few months we've had together, getting to know each others quirks, personality traits, taste in music and food…they've been some of the best times I've had in my life. "Rebecca," I say calmly, "It doesn't matter if I've been shot, tortured, whatever. I still love you, and that's not going to change." I give her the largest grin I can manage. "Of course I want to move in with you. More than anything."

The tears in her eyes slowly die away, as the realisation of what I said hits her. "You really mean that?" I nod, still smiling. "Well…this isn't the celebration I had planned," she finally admits.

"You're telling me," I chuckle. It even gets a smirk from Garrus, standing behind her, before his expression turns serious and he opens his mouth to talk.

"Ian…you saved my life. I owe you more than anything I have," he finally says, voice cracking a bit around the edges. Poor guy, the memory of me pretty much dying in his arms will still be fresh in his mind…I hope he doesn't start crying again, I've got enough of that with Rebecca to float a boat.

"Don't mention it," I reply, trying to shake it all off. "You've saved my ass plenty of times, we're more than even with each other now, right?"

"I never took a bullet for you," he points out. "That's a pretty big step up from what I've been doing."

"And I'd have died for sure if you hadn't found me when you did. Seriously, forget it. Just because we're in a hospital doesn't mean you have to be so morbid!" He laughs properly this time. Thank God we've got that sorted out…I don't want Garrus to end up like those aliens from Toy Story following Potato Head around going 'you saved our lives, we are eternally graetful'… "You're alright with me moving in with Rebecca?" I ask, changing the topic as fast as I can.

"Sure," he drawls, opening his mandibles a bit to smile. "I can't say I won't miss you…then again, at least we won't have to worry about getting food mixed up. And I won't have to deal with you snoring." Oh, you bastard…I've just been shot, and you're trying cheap shots like that?

"And suddenly, moving in with you doesn't seem like such a good idea," Rebecca laughs. She looks like she's about to say something else, but the salarian comes rushing over.

"That's five minutes! I have tests to run, the patient's in no fit state to be chatting all day."

Garrus and Rebecca both look amused at the salarian's fussing, but eventually relent and head to the door. "Rebecca, go home with Garrus," I say as she leaves. "Get some rest, come back tomorrow when he's done with me," I gesture at the slightly outraged looking doctor. She nods, still looking a little tearful, before the door slides shut behind her.

"Girlfriends," I say, turning the salarian and smiling apologetically. "Who'd have 'em?"

"I wouldn't know," he replies casually. "Salarians have little to no sex drive, relationships are far less of a concern for us than other species. Still, feel your pain."

Oh yeah, of course. How could I forget Mordin's sex ed lessons from Mass Effect 2… "Erm, thanks?"

"No problem. Now, we have tests to run."

"Do the tests require me to be conscious? I'm exhausted." The initial rush of waking up and seeing Rebecca and Garrus has worn off, replaced with a dull pain where the bullet entered my body and general weariness all over.

"We need to check your blood, how stable you are, what treatment you need…I supposed not, the machines can gather information while you sleep. Alright, get some rest." He starts to walk out the room. "I'll be back in a few hours when the tests are done."

I barely hear his last words, as I'm fast asleep within seconds.

#########

The doctor came back about four hours later with the test results, as promised. Apparently I'm recovering quicker than anyone expected, the wound's healing fast and there shouldn't be any permanent damage. As the doctor said, I'm an extremely lucky man. He reckons I pulled through mainly because I'm young and fit, so heal quicker than say, a thirty year old, but it's not that important. I'm just glad to be alive. The salarian did, however, insist I wasn't to return to work for three months. At the VERY earliest. He grumbled something about my record and 'reckless habit of finding danger, and if there's none around creating some', saying that if I was going to go and get myself shot again I should at least have fully recovered from the last gunshot wound. Morbid medical humour, it's great.

I'm more just killing time, now. Taking a few hours rest helped a lot, but now that I'm awake there's nothing else to do. The hospital wants to keep me in for a few more days, just as a precaution, and there's nothing to do except watch some vids. Then again, I did manage to find 'Fleet and Flotilla' on the vid list, that one somebody mentions on Ilium that won awards for its portrayal of quarian and turian relationships. It genuinely was pretty good, well acted, dramatic, incredibly sad ending (the turian went out on military mission and got killed, the quarian kills herself soon afterwards.) Depressing, but then again 'happily ever after' stories are a bit unrealistic.

I've also amounted quite the collection of cards during my brief time in hospital so far. Yeah, people still use greeting cards in the future…you'd think someone would have thought of a more efficient system, but clearly not. I must have at least fifty, mainly from colleagues at C-Sec, but there's a few other ones as well. The bartender from Flux sent one reminding me that drinks are on the house when I get out, which was sweet. That turian's still trying to get me into alcohol, even after months of me politely turning him down every time…Morgan Patterson got me a great one, cartoon picture of a krogan in a hospital bed trying to strangle his salarian doctor, with 'Get Well Soon!' emblazoned across the front in typical garish coloured cartoon letters. Hell, I even got one from _Pallin,_ of all people, though he clearly doesn't know much about this kind of thing because the one I got from him played 'Happy Birthday' when I opened it. Still, it's the thought that counts, right?

My human nurse, Tariana, slides the door to my room and sticks her head round. "You've get a visitor, Ian. Are you alright to see them now?"

"Sure. Thanks." A visitor? I wasn't expecting anyone, but I'm sure it'll break off the monotony…maybe it's someone from C-Sec? I twist around away from the door to grab a drink of water just as the visitor walks through the door and it slides shut behind them.

"Sorry, I'm just getting a drink…WHAT THE FUCK!" I roll over, and Bloody Mary's standing there, smiling slightly at my alarm. "Mary, holy shit, no, no…"

I try to crawl off the bed, but all the cables and the drip stuck in my arm make it impossible to get away. Not now, I can't do this!

"Relax, Ian. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then what the hell do you want, Mary?" I ask, trying to regain some composure. If she wanted to kill me, she'd probably have done it by now...and it's not like I've got much choice but to hear her out. That's not calming me down much, though.

"My name's not Mary," she chuckles. "It's Shiara. And I think we've got a lot to talk about."

**A/N: Oh, the sheer level of melodrama in this chapter. It's over 9000, I swear to God…**

**So yeah. Ian and Rebecca will be moving in together after the Mary/Shiara chapter is done, meaning we've got a very Rebecca-centric chapter in two update's time (if everything goes to plan.) Then it's time for the final full investigation of Masses to Masses…Dr. Saleon is up next.**

**Oh, by the way, Shiala is the asari who gives Shepard the Cipher on Feros. Shiara is the asari who'll be playing a role in the whole Masses to Masses saga (just to avoid any confusion.)**

**Next update won't be as quick the past two. I know I'm saying that every chapter these days…but I'm almost certain this time. Real life catches up with me.**

**See you next chapter!**


	23. Answers and Asari

Chapter 23

**A/N: I edited last chapter to mention this, but some of you might have missed it. Shia****la**** is the asari who gives Shepard the Cipher on Feros. Shia****ra**** is the OC asari who'll be playing a significant role in the Masses to Masses saga. Got it?**

**Sweet. On with the chapter!**

I'm still shaking from the 'surprise' of seeing the person who dragged me here all those months stroll into my room without a seeming care in the world, but at least I've calmed down enough to sip a glass of water and for my pulse on the heart monitor to return back to normal.

"We can't talk about this here!" I whisper. "There's probably surveillance everywhere, if people here where I'm really from…"

"I disabled the surveillance temporarily when I came in," Shiara replies calmly. "It's showing a looped feed of you sitting in bed, watching vids. No-one will know any better."

Oh, that's actually pretty impressive…I might have even thrown a compliment her way if I wasn't so utterly freaked out. "And what if I suddenly have a massive heart failure and they don't see it because you stopped the monitoring equipment?"

"Don't be pedantic, Ian," she says scornfully. "You're recovering fine, and if you start dying I'll personally get a doctor for you. Alright?"

"No, not really. But I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Indeed," she smiles a little bit, then just sits there looking at me. The awkwardness is off the scale.

"So…why are you here? You said we had things to talk about?" I finally break the silence. I'm still uncomfortable with Bloody Mar…I mean Shiara, just sitting there, the person responsible for bringing me into this universe talking to me as if it were something she did on a regular basis. Maybe it is, I wouldn't actually know. It's also weird to think she has a real name...Bloody Mary just seemed so right. Getting used to the change is going to take a while, I swear...

"We do." My words seem to shake her out of whatever trance she was in. "First off, my real name is Shiara T'Aeoni. I realise that I've been rather cryptic with you…" I snort with derision, but she continues anyway. "However, I believe it's time I, what's the human idiom…clear the air with you? You must have many questions." Too bloody right, I do! "I will try and answer as many of them as I can, the best I can."

"Wait, what do you mean, the best you can?"

"There's still many things you can't be told," she explains, calmly. "Doors you must open yourself, discoveries only you can make to truly understand."

"I though you said we were done with being cryptic!" I exclaim, a little annoyed. Why is it impossible to get a straight answer around here?

"I'm sorry, it's the only way," she replies, voice remaining calm but with an apologetic edge to it. "Like I said in the message I sent to you all those months back, if I told you everything I know you could try to change the path fate has set you on. The galaxy depends on that not happening, whatever the personal cost to you."

"You know, I never deleted that message," I say, feeling my anger rising. "I stared at it for nights, days on end, trying to work it all out, worried sick about the responsibilities, the implications of what you said. I wake up with visions tearing my skull apart, seeing the destruction of the galaxy almost every night…can you even begin to understand what that's like? To have a life, friends, family, and have it all taken away from you just like that?" I snap my fingers to emphasise the point. "Do you have any idea what you've done to me?"

"Don't lecture me!" she snarls, her voice changing from its previous calm to anger, eyes burning into mine. "It wasn't my decision! You were chosen by a power beyond any of us, I simply seeked you out! You talk about losing your friends and family, I haven't seen mine for several decades! Instead I've been following the trail that ended up leading to you! Apparently the only thing standing between all of us and certain destruction."

"Wait, wait, wait." My temporary burst of anger is suddenly sated, replaced instantly with a thirst for knowledge at Shiara's words. "You've been searching for me for several _decades_? I haven't even been alive that long! I was chosen by a greater power?"

"I've already said too much," she replies hurriedly, previous calm gradually returning as the fire in her eyes dies down a bit. "All I can tell you is that you're going to play a big part in the future of this universe. More than anyone would believe possible."

The sheer amount of information being thrown at me here is disorientating. So, Shiara has apparently been searching for me for decades, at the very least, as she accidentally revealed during her little outburst there. But I'm only twenty years old...so how is that possible? It also appears I'm not just here through blind luck (though luck probably isn't the best word to describe it) some 'great power' chose me…whatever that means. Damn, I really hate all this prophesising shit!

"Play a big part," I reply, cynically. "That's all I get to know? Throw me something here, Shiara!"

She rolls her eyes. "You know what the Reapers are, right?" I nod.

"Yeah, of course, but…"

"I'll dumb this down as much as I can." Is that really necessary? I'm a fairly intelligent individual, that's actually rather patronising… "You're here, essentially, to stop the Reapers, while working with Commander Shepard. Does that help?"

"A little…" To be honest, I'd kind of put that much together myself. Hang on a minute! "How the hell do you know who Shepard is? How do you know she's going to be fighting the Reapers? Can you see into the future?"

"No, don't be stupid." She laughs at my apparent ignorance. Mind you, since I've been thrown into a universe I always thought was complete fiction, people being able to see into the future is a concept I'm more than prepared to see as plausible. "When I transported you from universe to ours, we melded, and I saw a lot of things in your mind. Including that game you call 'Mass Effect'." Oh, so that's how she knows… "It was…surprising." She admits. "It took me a while to get my head around everything I saw, but it all makes sense. I know all about Harbinger, Saren, the Collectors, the Illusive Man…"

"Alright, alright, I believe you." I say. "So I'm going to work with Shepard, and destroy the Reapers. How am I going to do that, exactly?"

"I don't know that far ahead," she admits. "I only know up to where you do." Shit, that could have been helpful to know…though I doubt she'd have told me anything she did know anyway. "Right," I say. "You know what, it would probably be easier if you just said everything you _can _tell me, rather than us playing twenty questions all day, yeah?"

"You have a point," she muses. "It's just, where to begin?"

"At the start," I say, folding my arms. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Again, good point," Shiara laughs. I'm relaxing a lot more around her…I was expecting her to be like a god or something, but she appears to just be a normal asari. Well, as normal as someone who jumped between universes can be. "I'm going to have to miss a lot of details out, you understand. You'll find them out eventually, but I can't tell you now because…"

"I could change the future, fate only works when her hand is unnoticed, all that jazz. Yeah, I know." She is a bit of a broken record sometimes, though.

"The furthest back I can go is when I first found you, in your universe. You were doing that weird religious ritual, so I…"

"Weird religious ritual?" I laugh and shake my head. "Not exactly, a friend of mine just sent me some chain mail about this weird thing and I thought I'd try it out…" She looks unconvinced. "You know what, if it helps you, we'll call it a ritual."

"Alright." Her expression is one of bemusement, but she keeps going. "Anyway, it was just chance I stumbled upon you when that was happening. But, I went along with it. A jump in universe is stressful on the mind, doubly so on someone who isn't expecting it and isn't controlling the shift, so helping the mind rationalise what's happening helps relieve the stress."

"You controlled the shift in universes?" Shit, that's amazing!

"Biotics," she replies. "I'm a matriarch, but similar power-wise to a justicar, or Ardat-Yakshi. Probably more so. Obviously there was more to it than just biotic strength to break through the very fabric of time and space…"

"Let me guess. You can't tell me about that?" Story of my life here…

"You catch on quick." She smiles. "Anyway, to make the 'ritual' seem real, I cut myself slightly, projected the blood onto your mirror biotically, went along with the whole thing then melded with you to keep you mentally stable. Then we went back, onto the Citadel, where I was hoping. You were unconscious, so I made my escape while you came around."

"Wait, I was passed out, completely helpless, and you abandoned me?" For someone going on about how important I am, that seems unlikely.

"Not exactly. I watched from the shadows until you reached C-Sec. I almost intervened with that batarian who tried to mug you, but I was already extremely weak from my efforts to bring you here. Besides," she smiles ruefully, "you handled him pretty well." Ha, damn right I did…God, that feels like so long ago. Years, rather than the actual months.

"And my C-Sec application? That was you?"

"Yes," Shiara grins. "Good deduction. Once I found you and saw into your mind, saw everything about you," That's a little disturbing... "I hacked into the C-Sec server and made it seem like your application had arrived two weeks ago, with all the correct personal information. I made it so you'd been accepted for the job."

I'm still a little confused... "Why C-Sec instead of somewhere safer?"

"When I saw into your mind, I saw everything in the Mass Effect universe that you knew. It wasn't too hard to work out that putting you with Garrus Vakarian, one of Shepard's most trusted squadmates, was a good idea." Hmm, that's actually quite good thinking on her part. Impressive.

"So, what happened since then? That message you sent me seemed awfully knowledgeable."

"Indeed it was. It's not exactly hard to find out what you've been doing, all I have to do is follow the trail of destruction you leave in your wake." Hey! I resent that! "As for everything else, contacting your omni-tool, looking at your C-Sec records, occasionally watching you over surveillance cameras…" Okay, that's just plain creepy. "Everything electronic can be accessed, whether the owner or creator thinks it is or not." So, a tech expert as well. She really is the top of everything, isn't she?

"Then what about when I was being tortured. Where were you then? No intervention when I could have died?"

"I can't watch you all the time," she admits. "I only found out about you being shot when I checked the C-Sec server and radio chatter. Believe me, I was as surprised as everyone else when I got the news."

"You still don't seem like you're stressing out that I almost died," I point out. "Especially over someone who's apparently the saviour of the galaxy or something."

"There's nothing apparent about it," she says, simply. "It's true. Fate chose you, whether or not either of us like it. Besides, I knew you'd pull through. Even at this stage, someone chosen like you can't be stopped that easily."

"What does that even mean, 'at this stage'?" This is all becoming way too confusing, way too quickly.

"Nothing, I shouldn't have said that." She replies quickly. I'm not convinced, not by a long shot.

"Look, it clearly _isn't _nothing, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it!" I'm raising my voice again, getting more and more worked up. "I just want some straight answers here!"

"And believe me, I want to tell you, Ian, I really do." She replies earnestly. "But I can't tell you. You can't know. This goes beyond us both. No matter how much it's troubling you personally, I can't tell you yet, for the greater good."

"Can't tell me yet? More riddles?" She stands up, preparing to leave. "Whoa, Shiara, don't leave me hanging here!"

"I swear to you, Ian, you'll find out. Once you discover the truth about, once you accept it, you'll find a lot of doors open to you. When they've opened, I can tell you everything. But not until then."

"Once I find the truth?" What the fuck? That's completely meaningless to me! "How will I even know when I've found it?"

"Believe me, you'll know." She smiles. "Don't go out of your way to search for it. Just continue along your path, and everything will reveal itself, in time. Don't expect everything to just come to you."

"That's a hell of a lot easier said than done," I sigh. She shrugs.

"You have to deal with it. I've already spent far too much time here, I need to leave." She swivels on her heel and heads for the door. Oh, we are not done yet!

"Look, two more questions. I swear, that's it."

She stops in her tracks, and slowly swivels back around. "What is it?" she asks, a little impatiently.

"Will I see you again, after this? If I've got questions or anything?"

"A fair question." She looks thoughtful, then her face steels itself a little. "No. Probably not, not until you find the truth and we can talk without secrets. I'll still be watching you, of course…but we won't talk again like this for a long, long time."

She really isn't making this easy… "Right, one more thing. And this has been bugging me for a while now. Can I tell people who I am, where I'm from? What will that mean?"

"If you do, the consequences could be unpleasant." She admits, grimacing. "If people find out, that could affect the future…" Shiara shakes her head. "I can't stop you if you do. But the ramifications could be catastrophic, for everyone in the galaxy. I can't say I recommend it, but at the end of the day it's down to your judgement. Is telling someone your secret really worth gambling the fate of the galaxy on?"

"I…" I'm not really sure how to answer that, but Shiara holds up her hand for silence anyway.

"Enough. I have to leave now."

"But there's so much more I don't know! Stuff that could be…"

"Goodbye, Ian." She says calmly. "It's been nice talking to you." The door slides open, and she takes one step out of it before turning around and giving me a hard stare. "Try not to get yourself killed, alright? You're more important than you believe. Trust me."

The door slides shut before I can say anything back, leaving me sitting there with my mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief, mind ablaze with thoughts, and the all too familiar feeling of being way out of my depth.

**A/N: **_**Next chapter won't be done anywhere near as quickly, I'm almost certain…**_**almost certain doesn't appear to be good enough, eh? I seriously over-estimate how long it takes for me to write a chapter…the ideas are just flowing at the moment, I swear.**

**A lot of information in that chapter. If a lot of it doesn't make sense to you… that's kind of the point. It'd be a bit crap if I revealed all the plot twists this early on. But everything Shiara's said has an explanation and meaning, though said explanation won't be happening until we are well into Mass Effect 2 events…**

**So next chapter is going to be a bit weird. There's going to be a gap of almost nine months between now and the case, but next chapter is going to take place three months after the hospital. It's going to be Rebecca-centric, show a little bit about her backstory, plus plenty of romance and stuff. Obviously since she's an OC it's more difficult for people to care about her rather than an established character like Garrus…but imma do my best! After that chapter, back to business as usual with Ian and Garrus vs. . It's gonna get good.**

**Not much else to say…y'all remember to review, now. Until next time…**


	24. Rebecca, Rooftops and Revelation

Chapter 24

**A/N: So, a lot of this chapter is going to be about Ian and Rebecca. Therefore, it might help if you have some idea of what Rebecca looks like in my mind. If any of you have played Resident Evil 5 Mercenaries, imagine Jill (BSAA). If you haven't played RE5, just ignore that.**

**I also realised that I never mentioned how old Rebecca actually is. She's 22. **

**Enjoy!**

So, it's been three months since Shiara came to the hospital and blew my mind, again. Another three months of fruitlessly trying to piece together what she said, and coming up with nothing. So far, the only useful pieces of information I've managed to salvage is that Shiara was searching for me before I was even born, however that works…and that she didn't choose me to be here, someone (or something, I suppose) picked me instead. Once again, it appears I'm just going to have to do what she says and let the answers come to me. Which isn't easy, considering I'm not exactly the most patient person in the galaxy, but what can I do? Fortunately, I've had more than enough to keep my mind of cryptic prophecies and dimension jumping asari over the past few months. Being discharged from hospital was a _huge _relief. Being bed-ridden for a week does not suit me, at all, especially after all the time I've spent with Garrus and the action that entails. I believe I ended up watching Fleet and Flotilla about four times in the week I was stuck in there, and feeling deeply cheated that the Blasto film (about the Hanar Spectre) doesn't come out until later in the Mass Effect timeline. But again, what can I do?

At least Rebecca and Garrus's constant visits kept me sane. Rebecca waltzed in after work every day, usually with some manner of present, be it flowers for the jar next to my bed, or some asari chocolate/sweet things I've developed a craving for in the months I've been on the Citadel. She really is the most thoughtful person I know…I mentioned liking those chocolates to her almost five months ago, and she still hasn't forgotten. She came in, chatted about work, then went on about how she was preparing the apartment for when I moved in. Oh yeah, I'm living with Rebecca now! Garrus moved all my stuff over for me while I was in hospital, then when I was finally discharged Rebecca and Garrus put me in a cruiser, drove off towards Rebecca's place while Garrus blindfolded me, saying something about a 'big surprise' while Rebecca giggled in the front seat. They weren't lying about it…when we walked through the front door and they took the blindfold off, the entire apartment (it's almost as big as Garrus's, which is saying something) was filled with people from C-Sec, some of Rebecca's friends, and seemingly a few people who had just wandered in from the street, big banner hanging from the roof saying 'Welcome Back Ian!'. The whole time I'd been hospitalised, it turned out, Rebecca and Garrus had been organising a housewarming party for when I got out. Seeing all those people standing there, Rebecca smiling at me…the sheer scale of how many people I'd got to know, finding someone I love, as someone from another universe dragged here by chance…I almost broke down. Almost. Then Garrus made a tasteless joke about why Pallin wasn't at the party and what he was most likely doing instead, which spoiled the moment somewhat. Still, the strange feeling of that sudden realisation stayed with me the entire night.

Not that it spoiled the party. Garrus had managed to rope the bartender from Flux in to do drinks, meaning by the end of the night we had a LOT of drunk people of multiple species mingling around. Apparently the bartender agreed to work for free, provided he could try mixing more 'experimental drinks', Garrus eventually told me. Still, it was all good humoured. The only major hiccup was one of Rebecca's friends getting drunk, losing almost all of her inhibitions and making out with a turian male in a similar state. One of exchange of fluids later, there was a minor allergic reaction on her part, but nothing Rebecca couldn't handle. Last I saw of that friend for the night was her being led away by Rebecca, who was muttering something about 'not ingesting'…looks like Mordin wasn't the first one to come up with that line! Speaking of salarians, there was a surprising guest at the party. That salarian Garrus and I chased in the maintenance area all that time had indeed taken up my offer of a job at C-Sec, much to my surprise. Garrus had put in a word for him in my absence, and they took him on as a basic officer. Apparently, he's loving it, making a change for the better now. Plus, he told me excitedly, he's making more money from C-Sec than he ever was dealing red sand, which is pretty awesome for him.

After that party, things settled down a little bit. I couldn't go back to C-Sec for at least three months on doctor's orders, but that became a great opportunity to see a lot more of Rebecca than I ever had before. Previously, we were doing well to see each other four times a week due to work conflicts and so on, but now we've moved in together things are going brilliantly. I've got all her little quirks worked out around the apartment, as well. She's almost OCD about neatness, that was the biggest culture shock. Garrus and I left our apartment in a bit of a mess, throwing stuff around, leaving objects just lying around, only cleaning when we absolutely had to. For Rebecca, as she admitted to me, blushing slightly, there has to be an order for everything. For food, there's a cupboard for meat, one for sweets, one for fruit and vegetables, that sort of thing. Its taken a while for me to get used to, much to her frustration…but I'm getting there. She also doesn't like my taste in music. I've bought a ton of songs from my time (Circa Survive exist in this universe, thank Christ), claiming I like old rock music and so on. Rebecca, on the other hand, seems to love the kind of music they play in Flux. The total garbage with absolutely no rhythm. Still, I guess that's what she was brought up on, so I can hardly blame her for the whole lack of taste. Food wise, she's surprisingly similar to me. Loves most human and asari cuisine, but isn't too crazy about what the salarians eat. She loves animals, but understandably hates the fact she can't get anything bigger than a fish on the Citadel. Rebecca's also incredibly shy around people she doesn't know that well, especially aliens. It's not xenophobia or anything, just a habit she can't really help, and it's incredibly cute when just talking to a salarian or turian she doesn't know starts her rambling like a nervous quarian. In fact, the only thing I don't really know about her is where she's from, or anything that happened before she joined C-Sec. The whole secrecy around it screams 'childhood issues', but I'm not pushing it. We both trust each other implicitly, and if she doesn't want to tell me something it's probably for a damn good reason. Probably like how I can't tell her about my real past. Besides, it's none of my business anyway if she doesn't want to tell me.

Thinking about her reminds me, we're going out tonight, getting dinner at some asari place that opened nearby. Shit, I'd better get ready, don't want to disappoint her.

* * *

"If asari can do one thing, it's cook," Rebecca says, mouth full of the dish she ordered. "This stuff is delicious. Better than anything you've made me."

"I'm taking that as a personal insult," I smile, raising an eyebrow. "My cooking is brilliant."

"When you don't set it on fire," she laughs. Oh, she's still going on about that one time…

"I told you, the cooking instructions were wrong! It said cook for twenty minutes at a high temperature!"

"There's high temperature," she points out. "Then there's what you used. You pretty much incinerated the damn thing."

"It said high temperature," I repeat, feigning hurt. "The manufacturer and I just have different definitions of what constitutes to high."

"You can say that again." She washes down the mouthful with an asari wine. "Doesn't this seem a little cannibalistic?" Rebecca pokes at the plate of tentacle looking things on her plate with her fork. "What with their tentacle heads and stuff?"

"You know, I doubt you're the only one who thinks that." My mind wanders back to Gardener on the Normandy SR-2…it's funny because everyone hates his cooking. "As long as it tastes good, I really don't mind. You want more wine?"

She waves my question away with her hand. "No, I don't want you having to carry me home. You know I can't hold my drink that well, two glasses of this stuff is probably enough to knock me down."

"I doubt I'd cope much better," I say, glancing over at my soft drink to emphasise the point. "A life of soft drinks doesn't do wonders for my alcohol resistance."

"Indeed. Hey, you want to get some tea or something?"

"No thanks." That seemed like a bit of a weird question…oh well. "So anyway," I try to change the topic from food, "how's work? C-Sec falling to pieces without me?"

"Hardly," she replies, chewing on some more of her food. "It's almost serene without you and Garrus getting into trouble all the time. I've been getting used to dealing with battle wounds with you two, now it's looking at officers who've fallen over and scraped their knee or something. More boredom than anything, and Garrus isn't taking it too well either."

"Tell me about it," I say, thinking back to the conversation I had with the disgruntled turian earlier today. "Apparently that new partner Pallin assigned him is a little bit useless."

"Ian," Rebecca says, sounding a little annoyed. "Ranis is doing the best he can, don't be mean." Oh Ranis, my temporary turian replacement…I almost feel sorry for the guy, working with Garrus Vakarian without prior warning about his personality could be…difficult, to say the least. Especially when Garrus is already pissed off that I've been out of action for so long.

"Sorry, I'm just quoting Garrus's words. Ranis is all about bureaucracy and filling out the forms. Garrus prefers to actually do something useful, you know?"

"I suppose." She takes another sip of her rapidly depleting wine, then lays her cutlery on top of her finished plate neatly. Her neatness even applies to restaurants too, even though I constantly remind her that they have people employed to clean up after us and that by tiding up she's depriving them of a job. Apparently Rebecca doesn't follow my logic. "It hardly matters, you're going to be back in a week or so. Your medical leave is almost over, and that ought to cheer Garrus up, right?"

"Good point." I am seriously hyped to get back to work, put all this getting shot shit behind me and start dishing out justice on a regular basis again. "He'll be glad to see the back of Ranis, that's for sure. And a bit of action after all this time ought to do me good." I'm prepared for it, as well. Just because I can't work hasn't stopped me going to regular shooting range sessions with Garrus, going to the gym and trying out some parcour around the Citadel. Yeah, after the whole salarian it seemed like a useful thing to be good at it. It's also incredibly fun, so yeah.

"When you say stuff like that, it worries me," Rebecca says, reaching over and grabbing my hand with hers. "Promise me you'll be careful, alright? I don't want to go through all this again."

"I promise. Besides, I'm always careful." She snorts with laughter, then downs the last of your wine. I lean in closer, and whisper into her ear. "And last time I got shot, we got all this time to spend together, right? You sure you don't want that again?"

"Stop it," she giggles. "Ian, this is serious. Don't make me laugh!"

"Come on, relax. I'll be fine, you know I will." She raises an eyebrow. "Look, I promise to be super, super careful. Is that good enough for you?"

"It'll have to do." She leans back in her chair, rests a hand on her stomach and sighs deeply. "You want dessert or something? I'm absolutely stuffed."

"Nah, I'm good. Asari food fills me up. We'll just get the bill, then go out onto the Citadel. I've got a surprise for you." Her eyes light up at the sound of a surprise. While I've been doing parcour I found this really nice rooftop, great views over the presidium and into space…romantic doesn't begin to do it justice. If Rebecca's got the energy to get up there, anyway.

"You know I don't like surprises!" She gasps. "Just tell me!"

"Nope," I cross my arms. "I'm getting you back for that surprise party."

"You enjoyed that!"

"You'll enjoy this!"

She pouts, then settles back into her seat, wry smile on her face. "This better be good, Ian. You know that drama I like is on tonight."

"You'd choose watching vids over going out with your boyfriend?" She gives me a cheeky wink.

"Depends which is more entertaining." Bloody hell…she's hard work sometimes.

"That show is trash. We both know the turian is going to get the girl over that asari bitch." Rebecca frowns, even though she knows full well I'm right. "Come on, get your coat. Trust me, you'll enjoy this."

* * *

"Climbing? I don't enjoy this kind of thing, Ian." Rebecca's looking at the rooftop with a little bit of trepidation. Damn it!

"There's a ladder around the back to take us onto the roof. No acrobatics, I promise." Her facial expression shows hesitation, but she shakes it off quickly.

"Alright. Give me a hand up." I reach down, and heave her up over the lip of the lower rooftop. I'm just glad she's quite petite…I wouldn't be able to drag Garrus up here, that's for sure. "Where's the ladder?"

"Round here," I jog around to the other side of the building. "You might want to hurry up a bit, though."

"Why?" Rebecca comes around the corner, looking at me a bit suspiciously.

"Well, _technically, _we're not supposed to be up here. Once we get onto the main roof no-one'll be able to see us…but until then I'd rather be hidden as quickly as possible, if you know what I mean." I jump onto the first rung of the ladder, and start clambering up.

"You didn't say this was illegal, Ian," she says disapprovingly, but she's smiling slightly as she climbs up behind me.

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure at?" Rebecca chuckles lightly, as I climb onto the rooftop, Rebecca following close behind.

"I left it at home…wow, that's beautiful." The view stretching out before us stops Rebecca in her tracks.

It's even prettier at night than I remember it being when I was up here doing parcour. The entire Citadel stretches out beneath us, lights flickering on and off, cruisers speeding around through the sky, even people walking around, almost as small as ants in our vision. The Citadel's arms stretch out next to us as well, the light display on them adding even more to the beauty of the scene. And beyond them, space stretches on for eternity, stars winking at us through the darkness. Space is so nice without the light pollution back on Earth…everything's crystal clear, the sky filled with a myriad of stars and planets.

"Still rather be watching vids?" I ask, sidling up to Rebecca and putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Ian…I've never seen the Citadel like this before. It's amazing." She turns to look at me, huge grin on her face. "No-one's done anything this nice for me for a long time. Thank you so much."

"Ah, don't mention it. You deserve a treat, looking after me for all these months." Her gaze goes back over the Citadel, staring out into space…wait, are her eyes wet? "Hey, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

"It's just…I haven't been this happy since before my parents died." Oh, God, this isn't what I came up here for. This was supposed to be a happy, romantic thing, not bringing up her bad memories!

"Rebecca, I know you don't like talking about your childhood. You don't have to…"

"No, damn it!" She shouts, turning to look at me. "No more secrets. You deserve to know about my past, after all this time."

Jesus, this sounds ominous…but I've been curious about this for a long time now, and if she trust me enough to tell me about her past then I can hardly turn her down. "Alright," I reply, a little warily. "I'm listening."

"I lived on a human colony in the Terminus Systems when I was younger," she starts, sitting down on the edge of the roof. I walk over and sit next to her. "It was called Watson, Sigurd's Cradle, in the Skepsis system. It was quite nice, even with some issues about which Earth nations got to colonise there first. The Systems Alliance brokered this infamous "Reykjavik Compromise", allowing limited colonization from each coalition in cities comprised of populations from each nation. My parents were in the group from the United North American States. It was a great city." She's staring out into the distance, eyes going a bit misty. "And the tides were spectacular on the beaches; the planet had a huge moon." Rebecca's digressing now…but this is emotional for her, so I suppose I should give her time to let it all out, rather than just insensitively pushing for answers.

"Anyway," she continues, "it was a quite place. People had their own private affairs, but other than that nothing much ever happened. No-one wanted anything to, everyone was busy enough getting on with their lives. I was born in the city, went to school in the city, made all my friends there. I never went off the planet, I never had any need to. I was happy there." She lowers her head, and her voice gets a little bit quieter. Oh shit, I can see where this is going…this sounds awfully like a Colonist story…

"It happened when I was fourteen," she whispers. "Batarian slavers came to our city. You know how it is with Alliance colonies, they're built for scouting rather than defence, so when they did show up there wasn't anything we could do. I don't know why they chose our city, it just happened. One moment I'm lying in bed, the next there's alarms going off and soldiers running through the streets." She stops for a second, shuddering a bit.

"You alright?" I can already see how this is going to end…Jesus, no wonder she never talked about her past before now. That's messed up.

"I'm fine." She steels herself remarkably quickly and continues on. "We had a defence force of about twenty soldiers, substandard equipment, nowhere near enough training. The slavers outnumbered them, had better weaponry, and were far more organised. They just went from house to house, taking people, shooting the men. Bloody animals." she hisses through the tears, the anger in her voice prominent in the quiet of the night. "My mum and dad told me to hide. There was a cellar in our house, hidden by a trapdoor, they sent me into it to keep me safe, then put a wardrobe on top of the door so the batarians wouldn't find me. My dad had a pistol, and I knew that there was no way he was going to let them take my mother and him alive." Oh my God… "I heard one gunshot, then a body hitting the floor. Then there was the sound of batarians running in, more pistol shots from my father, assault rifle fire…then nothing. He tried to take some of them with him, but he wasn't some kind of superhero like you and Garrus." She laughs bitterly. "He never stood a chance. The Alliance turned up eventually, but it was far too late when they got there. Almost the entire city had been taken, the few survivors including me were taken in by the Alliance. They set us on education courses, set the future wide open for us. Wherever we wanted to go, whatever we wanted to do, they said. For me, the choice was obvious. I wanted to help people, however I could. So I went on the medical course, quit the Alliance when I passed, then…" She shrugs, then wipes at her eyes. "You know the rest. I joined C-Sec."

Holy shit, I thought she might have had a bad childhood…but this is far beyond anything I was expecting. "Rebecca, I'm so sorry…"

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," she replies tearily, managing a little half smile. "It's hardly your fault what happened, after all."

"I mean, for making you relive that. I didn't mean to make those memories come back."

"I told you, it's not your fault. It's just, this is the kind of thing my parents would have done for me all that time ago. You couldn't have known that." She stands up, and suddenly hugs me, putting her face up next to mine. "I haven't someone care about me this much for so long. I couldn't keep my past from you like that. We can't have any secrets, can we?"

I almost tell her everything, there and then. My mouth opens to speak, to say where I came from, what's happened to me, who I really am, how much I love her…let the pure truth come out and damn the consequences. But Shiara's words reverberate round and round in my mind.

'_Is telling someone your secret really worth gambling the fate of the galaxy on?'_

And I find I can't tell her. If she found out and it caused the galaxy's destruction, could I live with myself? We have something between us now, and what if the truth ended up tearing us apart? So when my mouth opens to speak, I don't tell her where I come from, what's happened to me and who I really am. I simply say:

"No, we can't," and hold her tight, feeling like dirt as she returns the gesture. I'm doing it to protect her…I'm doing it to protect everyone.

"I'm sorry, I know you wanted to come up here for a nice time. I didn't mean for this to start happening, to go on like this…" Rebecca starts to ramble, the apologetic and shy part of her personality shining through again. I look at her, trying to apologise for being herself, and realise just because I can't tell her one thing doesn't mean I can't love her.

"Stop it." I say, holding her face in my hands. "No more talk about this."

"I just want something to go right," she whispers. "First my parents, then you almost die…I can't lose you like that."

"Rebecca." I stare into her eyes, as she brings her face even closer to mine. "Be alive with me tonight."

She kisses me, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist, and we fall onto the floor as the stars shine on in the distance.

**A/N: If you didn't cringe at that last line, you have no soul.**

**Oh, the emotional conflict…hope that's helped flesh Rebecca out for you all. The colony she's from does exist in the Mass Effect universe (thank you Mass Effect Wiki!) Next chapter will be the start of the final investigation into Dr. Saleon. Look forward to that.**

**And remember to review! We're **_**sooo **_**close to the 200 mark, I can taste it! (metaphorically speaking.)**

**(BTW, if you got the tea reference during the restaurant section, you're awesome.)**


	25. Back into Action: The Endgame Begins

Chapter 25

Another six months have gone by since Rebecca told me about her past, and we spent that night on the rooftop. Six months wondering if I made the right decision not to tell her who I am every time I see her, every time we kiss, every time I wake up at night from the visions and see her lying asleep next to me. And every time I tell myself that I made the right choice putting the galaxy first, I'm not sure I believe myself. Hell, it's even hard not telling _Garrus_ any of it, considering I've pretty much come to love him like a brother around here. But I made my decision, and that's how it'll have to stay, for the greater good…I'm not selfish enough to put everything I know in this universe in jeopardy.

Fortunately, I haven't had too much time to worry about that when I've got more pressing issues happening right now. C-Sec welcomed me back with open arms; even Pallin looked a little bit pleased to see me, though he tried to hide it. Ranis was the only person who made it clear he wasn't too happy I was back, because obviously I was kicking him out of his temporary bubble of joy working with Garrus, but that's how the world works. Garrus himself was relieved beyond words at my return, telling me all about how 'he couldn't move for paperwork' and how 'the stuck up bastard's been getting in my way for months'. I humoured him by going along with it, until eventually he finished on his rant about the uptight turian and got me back up to speed. The black market trade in organs has been picking up slowly after the initial drop when we stopped the elcor killer, Caltan Xenvalis. No murders this time, no-one being hacked up for organs, this is legitimate, organised organ production. We don't know if someone's been snatching lowlifes of the street and killing them so no-one will notice, or if some lab is mass producing them. At least, we don't know officially. I've got a pretty good idea of who's behind it. Dr. Saleon. That salarian's been bugging my mind since Caltan Xenvalis mentioned 'the Doctor' in his little monologue when he had me cornered. I always knew it was inevitable this time would come, where we started investigating him…but it seems so surreal to actually be doing it now.

I'm also painfully aware of how close 2183 is, and how close Shepard is as well. This could very well be my last major case, and I'm still jittery about how I'm going to cope with it. Saleon's a real nutcase, but he's a cunning bastard, so catching him is going to be hard when I can't just arrest him based on the fact I know he's guilty, because I'll sound crazy and no-one will believe me. And I'm prepared to stop Saleon here before he escapes. It may change the future slightly, but not significantly enough for me to let him get away with his atrocities. If Garrus and I stop him here, all it means is Garrus doesn't have an assignment during Mass Effect 1 events. I'll take that over innocent hostages being experimented on and killed.

We're getting leads on Saleon. Slowly but surely we're tracking down shipments, catching minor suppliers, little steps that all lead us towards the endgame. Very soon, it's going to come down to us against him, the final major moment of my C-Sec career. And my attitude is set in stone.

Bring it on.

* * *

Rebecca rolls over in the bed as I get up, yawning and blinking her eyes while I pull on my clothes and attach my pistol holster to my hip.

"You're up early," she groans. "What's the big occasion?"

"Work. Isn't it always?" I check my handgun's sights, spin it around on my finger a few times out of a mixture of boredom and habit, then slide it into the holster. "It's all fun and games in the Investigation department right now, I'm telling you. Garrus and I have been following some intel about another organ shipment, it's supposed to be happening this morning. Believe me, I wish the criminals could wait until later as well." I pop open my omni-tool, glancing at the time. 5:43 am…Jesus, I'm supposed to be in the office at six, tooled up and ready to go on the raid at half past. I slept in, and I'm still exhausted. God, I hate mornings.

"I'm gonna have to eat breakfast on the go," I mutter, silently furious with myself for not getting up in time. "You want me to leave anything out for you?"

"No…" she rolls over in the bed and looks up at me, sulking over the fact I woke her up early. "Don't make a mess when you get stuff out, okay? Just because you're in a hurry doesn't mean you have to make me suffer as well."

Seriously? "Thanks, babe. I love you too." I lean over and give her a kiss, she grins back as I head out the room.

"See you later." I close the door softly behind me, whistling some happy tune I just improvised as I walk towards the kitchen. Sounds a bit like 'Kids' by MGMT, but slightly faster…I start typing a message in my omni-tool for Garrus while I walk.

'_You at the office yet? I'm just setting of now.'_

Not technically true, since in reality I'm raiding the cupboards from anything I can eat without having to cook in advance, but it's close enough to the truth. Looks like I'm going to have to settle with some bread and packet of dried fruit…ah, the glamour of an uncooked breakfast. Makes me wish I'd bought some cereal or something, or whatever the Citadel equivalent to it is. Maybe next time. I open the front door and head off down the building's stairwell, just as my omni-tool beeps with Garrus's reply.

'_Yeah. We're all waiting on you.'_

Oh, fuck. I cram the bread and as much fruit into my mouth as I can, before setting off down the stairs taking them two at a time. I can't believe I'm late to something as important as this…if go straight through the streets, it'll take me ten minutes, but I know a rooftop route that should only last about three…

* * *

I hurtle into C-Sec, three minutes and twenty-two seconds after reading Garrus's message, back of my jacket slightly torn due to an overshot jump and subsequent forwards roll on landing. Still, I'm here in one piece, albeit one very exhausted piece. Morgan Patterson gives me an odd look as I stagger up to the front desk, breathing heavily. Can't say I blame him.

"You alright, boss? You don't look too peachy." Wow, honesty really hurts sometimes.

"I'm fine, I just had to run here because I'm late…where's Garrus and the team at?"

"Garrus?" Morgan looks back over to his terminal screen and scrolls through something. "No, he hasn't signed in yet. You weren't supposed to be meeting him somewhere else?"

"No, he sent me a message…"

A flanging voice chuckles behind me, and I slowly turn around.

"About four minutes between you setting off and my message and you getting here. I'm impressed," Garrus remarks dryly, stretching out his mandibles in a smirk.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" I gasp, trying to sound angry and doing a terrible job. "I ran all the way here, worried sick I was holding the raid up, I'm exhausted, all so you could get a cheap laugh at my expense?"

He poses, mock-thoughtful for a second, then looks back at me. "Pretty much," he grins. "Don't say I didn't get you good. Anyway, you should be thanking me. I got you to work early, and gave you some morning exercise."

"You're a bastard, you know that right? I've got a massive tear in my jacket thanks to you."

"Stop exaggerating, Ian, it's tiny. You can get that kind of thing fixed in seconds." True…it's more a matter of principle than anything else though.

"I'm going to get you back for this. You know I am." He just chuckles and heads towards the Investigation offices, and I fall into step next to him. "Serious business now, though. Is there some kind of plan for this raid, or we just going to run in blind all guns blazing?"

"When do we ever do that?" he replies, still smiling. "No, we're going for arrests and seizing the organs, not a bodycount. I've got it all planned out, just wait until the meeting."

Ah, the tactical side of Garrus shines through! The Illusive Man's dossier had Archangel down as a 'tactical genius'…let's see if he lives up to the reputation.

* * *

We all gather around the holographic projection of the warehouse, the whole team who're on the raid. And I've got to say, C-Sec pulled out all the stops on this one. Illegal organ trading is taken pretty damn seriously around here, especially after the serial killing affair, so Pallin made sure we have more than enough resources. Around the projection, we've got a team of four turians and three humans (not including Garrus and I), all well trained and very well armed. Still, Garrus said he wasn't planning a shoot-out, so I'll be interested to see what the secretive turian's got in mind…

"Right," Garrus says, clacking his mandibles together to get everyone's attention. "Everyone listen carefully here. We've got a cargo of organs arriving here," he points to the main, open area of the warehouse, "at seven this morning. Our intelligence suggests that the warehouse should be fairly well guarded on the inside, but outside won't have any guards to minimise suspicion."

"So what, we're just going to burst in and grab the cargo?" One of the younger humans asks. "Firefight if necessary? We all know how you two operate." He winks at Garrus and I. Cheeky bugger…

"Our reputation precedes us, it would appear." I say, turning to Garrus and raising an eyebrow, getting a few chuckles from the officers around the desk.

"Indeed." He replies, smiling a little. "Yes, that might be how you'd think Ian and I would operate. In this case, however, you're wrong." There's a few sighs of disappointment around the room from the more trigger-happy squad members. "We want to get as much of the cargo as we can, and arrest the guards as well. This is organised crime, people, and we want as much information as we can get. No fatalities if possible, got it?" Everyone on the team nods, albeit some more reluctantly than others.

"Good," Garrus continues, apparently satisfied everyone's on board. "For the plan to work, we need to catch the guards by surprise. They don't have anybody out the front, but there's surveillance cameras almost everywhere." Camera positions are highlighted on the hologram as he says it, showing that the cameras cover every ground location. "There's only one door into the warehouse, it's heavily fortified and they aren't exactly going to leave it open for us. Nothing a liberal amount of explosives won't sort out, but we can't do that because one, they'll see us coming and setting up the explosives on the cameras straight away and be able to take up defensive positions and destroy the cargo. Two, the explosion could end up destroying the organs anyway, and three, I can guarantee it'll end up with us shooting the bad guys, something I want to avoid in this case." Wow, this sounds pretty grim. And so far, Garrus hasn't really solved any problems, just pointed them out.

"That's the only door in," a turian points out, clearly a little bit frustrated. "I don't see some other kind of entrance there."

"Then you're not looking closely enough," Garrus snaps, clearly a little annoyed at the turian's rudeness. "That may be the only door in, but it's not our only entrance. There's a ventilation system on the roof, the vents lead into the building here." He points to the top floor of the building. It's about five floors high. "If we can get someone through into the main building, theoretically they should be able to unlock the doors without raising the alarm. Once the doors are unlocked, we rush in, take the guards by surprise and hopefully force them to surrender."

"That ventilation shaft is almost inaccessible," one of the humans interrupts now. "That's on a lone rooftop, the only access point is up the side of the building, and no-one here can climb up walls."

"An excellent point," Garrus admits. "But there's neighbouring rooftops nearby, and I know just the person who can get up there without a problem." Garrus turns around to look at me, and every set of eyes in the room land on my astounded face. "He did something similar this morning to get to work, and there's no-one I trust more with this kind of job."

Garrus, you don't know how much I hate you sometimes.

**A/N: After the emotional rollercoaster of the past two or so chapters, we're back in business now! The case is gonna be a good one, it's shaping up to be great fun to write. I'm going to be sticking mainly to canon with it. (But of course, taking a few liberties to make it much more exciting and better than canon dictates.)**

**Also, those of you expecting a violent next chapter are going to be surprised. It's all about infiltration and stealth, so yeah. Fun times with that.**

**Right, seriously, 199 reviews after last chapter? You guys suck for doing that ;-). Nah, jokes, but just in advance I'm so happy to have hit the 200 mark. The popularity of this fic has exceeded my expectations so much, it's unbelievable. To everyone who reads, subscribes, favourites and especially those of you who review, thank you so much for your constant support, it's a great reward to see such positive reviews and it motivates me so much. Thank you all again.**

**(By the way, I go back to school the day after this is uploaded. So my update rate may not be as quick now as previously…then again, look what happened the last few times I said that, right?)**

**See you next chapter!**


	26. Ian vs The Infiltration

Chapter 26

**A/N: Man, it has been a WHILE! You wouldn't believe how busy my week's been since the last update…school has been hurling work at me, SOMEBODY accidentally linked me to a computer virus which took a while to purge (he knows who he is) and I've also been celebrating my birthday. So yeah, stuff's been happening.**

**But now I'm back and ready to write! So without further ado, let's crack on!**

Oh man. That jump looked a lot smaller on the diagram Garrus showed us back at C-Sec. And I mean, a lot. I thought it would be a simple hop across, but instead I'm looking at a six metre leap to the rooftop a significant distance below me. So, if I don't jump far enough, I fall about six or so stories and die. If I do jump far enough and then cock up the landing, I break my legs. Garrus has a hell of a lot to answer for when I get back down there…

The climb up wasn't too difficult, thankfully. The only minor complications were having to wall jump one point (just two jumps, thankfully, or I'd have been screwed), a wall run jump, which is as hard as it sounds, and a sketchy traverse across an incredibly thin bit of floor. Still, nothing quite as risky as hurling myself across a gap most people would see as suicidal. The things I do in the name of the law.

"_Are you up there yet?" _Garrus's voice crackles in my ear. Ah, just the man I wanted to talk to!

"Getting up wasn't a problem. It's getting down that's causing me problems. Your diagram didn't quite capture how lethal this situation is." I'm trying to work out my ideal trajectory in my head…Jesus, there's actually a risk I'll overshoot and roll of the edge of the roof on landing if I'm not careful. I'm just grateful there's no wind on the Citadel or this would be bloody impossible.

"_Yeah, blame it on whoever wrote the schematics." _He's so sympathetic and caring…_ "The cargo's already in the building, they'll start moving it out from here relatively soon. So, you might need to get over your fear of flying."_

"Oh, right, that's hilarious. You wouldn't be laughing if you were up here!"

"_Good thing I'm not, then. If you fall, Rebecca can probably put you back together."_

"Again, not funny!"

"_Just get it done, Ian. Garrus out." _There's a small click as the radio transmission dies. I look over the lip of the roof, and can just about see the blue tinted eyepiece Garrus constantly wears. I aim my middle finger towards it, then look back at the roof. The longer I stand here, the more I'm going to worry and the more I'm going to consider bottling it…I may not like it, but Garrus had a point. Time to get over my fear of flying.

The trajectory calculations I ran in my mind aren't quite as nice as I hoped. From up here, I'm going to need to jump just under my full potential, and go straight out rather than up to avoid leg damage on the landing. I've got a landing zone of about three metres long to make it to in order to land, roll and not fall off the ridiculously high roof I'm facing down. How hard can it be? I retreat back a few metres on the roof, preparing for my run up. Full speed, jump straight out, don't do anything stupid. Stop thinking, and just jump. I accelerate out, driving my arms through the Citadel's sterile air, legs pounding on the jagged surface below my feet…my right, leading foot hits the edge of the roof spot on the edge, and I push off, hurling myself through the six metre gap of space between rooftops and the sudden drop rushing towards me. Time seems to slow down slightly as I brace for the impact, checking I'm going to make the landing zone…my feet slam into the ground, and I push off my toes and put my hands down into the forward roll, advancing far too fast towards the edge. Hurling my weight to the opposite side, I manage to slide to a halt much later than I'd have liked, ankles hanging over the rooftop. Shit, that was way, way too close!

The adrenaline slowly wears off, and I become acutely aware of how hard I'm breathing. I tentatively try standing up, testing my legs' ability to carry my weight. There's a bit of an ache from the impact, but nothing that's going to handicap me…infiltrating a building filled with bloodthirsty guards seems relatively tame compared to this. Garrus's voice comes through my headset again.

"_I saw that, Ian."_

"Not bad, eh? Overshot it a bit more than I'd have liked, but at least…"

"_I was talking about that hand gesture you gave me just before you jumped. Very unprofessional."_

How the hell did he see that? "Does your eyepiece have magnification on it?"

"_Yep."_

Awkward silence ensues.

"Anyway…I'm ready to go in now. Do your team have a thermal scan ready?"

"_Sending it to your omni-tool now." _I pop it open, and a building schematic flares up in front of me along with red outlines of the guards moving around inside. I'm also on the scan, but marked with a blue tint for the sake of the ground team, and so I don't scare myself by thinking I'm a hostile. "_Good jump as well, by the way."_

"Thanks, I thought so too."

I can faintly hear him laughing and muttering 'cocky bastard' to someone on the ground team. I resent that! _"You're good to go in now," _he announces. _"Be careful. Last thing I want to end up doing is having to send in a team to rescue you."_

"I'll be careful. All I have to do is flick a switch, and evade about twelve people spread over five floors. No problem." I hop into the vent, and start following it down into the building. "Ian out."

###############

I drop down from the vent into the seemingly abandoned fifth floor, landing softly on the balls of my feet, which sends a searing pain up my legs and causes me to fall over. Guess I'm no Thane Krios yet…though that scene would have been pretty damn hilarious if this had happened to him in Nassana's office. Heaving myself back up, I survey my surroundings and check the scan. There's nobody on the fifth floor, probably because this place seems completely pointless. Some old desks, a few chairs and a lot of dust. It's actually quite creepy…if it wasn't for the pistol strapped to my hip and omni-tool glowing in the gloomy darkness I'd probably be getting a little bit freaked out. It's the kind of place you'd expect to see in Alan Wake or something, not bloody Mass Effect. I quite fancy getting off this floor as quickly as possible. There's some more modern stairs in the corner, and I slowly advance towards them, keeping moving as quickly and quietly as possible. I can do a pretty much silent run, crouching slightly, not as fast as if I threw caution to the wind, but it'll have to do me in here. Alright, down the stairs I go…apparently there's one guy up here, sitting in a secluded room. Bet he's having a cigarette away from the rest of the group…I advance along the corridor stealthily to the room where he's sitting and glance through the window looking into the room. True to form, someone human guard dressed in casual clothing is sitting there, leaning back in his chair and taking a drag on the cigarette he's clutching tightly between his thumb and index finger. The temptation to walk into the room, say 'smoking kills' and shoot him is absolutely huge, but I really don't need the trouble. Best just to leave this guy where he is, I doubt he'll be leaving any time soon.

The main problem that's struck me, stalking along the fourth floor to the steps, is that I have no idea at all where the damn switch for the doors is located. I've been having to check every single room I've gone past so far…and I doubt it's handily going to be located on one of the top floors. What's even more disturbing is how packed the floors below me are. There's three guards milling about on the third floor, then four on the second and first floors respectively. Bearing in mind I need to check every room…yeah, this could be a little problematic. No other choice though, as I descend further into the depths of the building. Each floor seems to be completely different…this one has a similar style to an office building, with plenty of rooms to check. Bugger. This place is like the mind in Inception, with all the different layers, each seemingly unique…Each descent also seems to make it a hell of a lot more dangerous for me with all the guards.

Thankfully, the three guards on this floor are playing some card game in a side room…and are all human again. Looks like we're dealing with a completely human based organisation here…meaning the usual mercenary suspects like the Blue Suns and Eclipse are out. They're also not organised enough to be Cerberus, so it looks like we're dealing with a bunch of amateurs here. Looks like they're probably trying to set up their own smuggling ring or something…too bad for them Garrus and I caught wind of it. It takes me about five minutes to check every room on the third floor, plenty of door hacking and checking computers to keep me entertained, and I start to head back along the main corridor towards the steps again. Then a movement on my omni-tool display causes me to panic and dive behind the nearest wall, as one of the red outlines on this floor suddenly stands up for seemingly no reason and starts advancing slowly towards my position. Shit, they must have heard me or something! The guard is about three metres away from my wall, as soon as he walks past it he'll see me. I can easily take him, and probably his two friends, but my cover will be well and truly blown and the operation will go straight to hell…

One metre away now, and I'm readying my pistol for the kill shot, when one of his friends from down the corridor shouts out.

"Leon! You find anything?"

The red outline stops, literally centimetres away from me and his death, seemingly considering his position. Come on, for both our sakes, don't come around the corner…

"It's nothing. I thought I heard something." I almost sigh with relief, stopping myself just in time.

"Well, you better hurry back, because Doug's gonna take your turn for you!" The guy shouts, his friend laughing in the background.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Leon shouts, jogging back along the corridor towards his card game. Jesus Christ, that was _way _too close. I need to find this switch fast, before my luck runs out completely. I poke my head around the corner, make sure it's completely clear, and advance back down it towards the staircase. Second floor looks like it's going to be a problem. There's guards walking around in what actually seems to be some kind of organised patrol, which I'm amazed to see considering the sophistication of the security upstairs. Still, nothing to complex, they've left a huge gap in the patrol pattern I can slip through without being noticed…I wait for the corridor ahead of me to clear, before moving forward as fast I can and diving into a random room as the guards come back around the corner and into my line of sight again. Looks like I'm in some kind of break-room…with plenty of memos and such like scattered on the board attached to the wall. I start reading them frantically, searching for some kind of information on where the switch is located. Why do people have to make this kind of stuff so hard? Can't there be some kind of massive signpost to help people out around here? Wait, here we go! There's a small handwritten note stuck up saying 'In case of emergencie, door control on first floor.' Wow, these people can't even spell properly…definitely amateurs.

I back away from the wall, glancing back down at my omni-tool, then doing a double take when I see what's happening on it. One of the guards is almost right outside the door, and it looks like he's heading in! I run into the corner behind the door, just as it opens and the guard steps through, standing right in front of me, his back turned. I wait for the door to slide shut, then slowly draw my pistol and twat him over the head with it as hard as I can when the door's shut and no-one's around, sending him crashing to the floor. Oh, shit, that's not good. I need to try and hide the body before people come in here, find him just lying there and raise the alarm. I grab him under the shoulder and start dragging him behind the cupboard standing to the side of the room. Man, unconscious people weigh a bloody ton, talk about dead weight…to my shock, the door opens and another guard walks in, looking at the scene before him with absolute disbelief.

"Erm…he slipped?"

The guard snaps out of his shock and lunges for the alarm, but I'm quicker, unleashing an Overload from my omni-tool at him. I was aiming at the alarm, but the Overload hits the unprotected merc, sending electricity coursing through his body and causing him to spasm uncontrollably before he slumps onto the ground, body smoking slightly. Shit, I think I might have killed that guy…this has NOT gone well, at all. I start to grab him, just as the door slides open again and another guard steps through, same look of disbelief stuck on his face as the last guy who walked in.

"You've got to be shitting me…" The guard, realising he's too far away from the alarm, launches a kick at me, which I bat aside with my forearm. He follows it up with a straight punch, which I catch with my hand. When I first arrived on this universe, this guy might have kicked my ass, but a year and a bit of working with Garrus and being taught unarmed combat from a top hand-to-hand specialist in the turian military has sharpened my skills beyond most others. I crush his knuckles in my hand, causing him to wince in pain, then follow it up with an uppercut to his unprotected stomach, sending him staggering backwards and buckled over in pain. He shakes his head, then lets out a little shout and charges towards me. Bad move. I spin my left leg around, building up momentum, then jump and bring the right one around as fast I can just as he reaches me and hit him square in the face. The combined momentum of his sprint and the force of my roundhouse kick actually cause him to do a backflip due to the sudden drop in speed, and he lies on the floor unconscious. Jesus Christ, this has not gone to plan at all. I wanted to just check a memo, not end up laying out three guards! There's one more on this floor…but now I know where about the switch is I don't want to risk anything by bringing the fight to him. Better open the doors instead, and fast, before anyone works out what's going on within the building.

I hurry down the steps to the first floor, glancing at the omni-tool display. We've got four guards here, but they're all bunched together in the cargo hold dealing with the organs. That means I've got a clear run to the switch, wherever it is around here…there's only two rooms around here, one looks like it's for administrative work, so therefore the other must contain the switch! I walk through the door to it, and I'm greeted by a row of monitors and buttons. I scan the labels as fast as I can…main door control! I press it, and the monitors flash as the text on them changes to 'Password Required.' Goddamit! I start the bypass module on my omni-tool, watching the progress bar on the display fill up slowly as the thermal scan is minimised. Well, not how I'd ideally planned this out, but we've got results. Time for Garrus and his squad of heavily armed cohorts to charge in and steal all the glory once the door opens. My omni-tool beeps cheerfully as the hack is completed, and the door control turns green to indicate it's unlocked. Alright, now all I have to do is tell Garrus what's going on and we should be…

"Put your hands where I can see them," a voice barks around me. Fuck, he must have snuck up on me while the thermal scan was minimised! I sneakily press a button on my omni-tool to activate the radio just before I turn around, and whisper into the mic:

"The door's open. Come in hard before they can organise."

"_Roger," _Garrus's voice crackles in a military fashion in my ear. I slowly swivel around, both hands in the air, watching the main door from the room's window out of the corner of my eye.

"Who the fuck are you?" The guy asks. Or should that be the kid? He barely looks seventeen, worried expression on his face, and the gun is shaking slightly in his hands. He's nervous…but from this distance even someone with shaky hands isn't going to miss.

"C-Sec, mate," I say calmly. "Put the gun down, you're not going to shoot an officer."

"You don't make demands!" the kid shouts, stepping forward slightly with the gun.

"Look, you're scared. I get that, but if you shoot me you're going to be in even more trouble than you are now. Just put the gun down, and we can talk."

"Like fuck, _officer!_" He shouts. Poor, misguided bastard…I actually feel really sad when I see someone this young turned into a thug like this. Where the hell are Garrus and the squad!

"Think about what you're doing here. You shoot me, you'll go away for the rest of your life." The gun's still shaking in his hands, but it's too risky to go for the disarm…

"Shut up!" He shouts. "Just shut…" There's a huge bang from outside as the doors slide open and the C-Sec team charge in, firing weapons into the air and loosing off stun grenades to incapacitate the guards before they can fire back. The kid stares out of the window, gobsmacked, giving me more than enough time to lunge forward and punch him hard in the temple, knocking him unconscious. I almost feel bad for doing it…but I hardly had a choice. He'll live, just wake up with one hell of headache.

I head back out the door, practically running into Garrus as the majority of the C-Sec team dashes upstairs to subdue the remaining guards as the others secure the organ cargo. Garrus flashes me a grin after we bounce off each other with slight surprise.

"Great work, Ian! That went perfectly!"

"_Erm…"_ A voice comes through both our headsets, a surprised turian from the C-Sec team. "_There's a breakroom here…we've got a three unconscious humans here, looks like one got hit by an electricity transformer or something._"

Garrus looks at me, and I raise an eyebrow. "Not exactly perfect, but I got it done. You took your time getting in here! I was at gunpoint!"

"You know me," he smiles. "Always going for the dramatic entrance." I groan in despair, and look over to the stacks of crate spread out across the cargo area.

"You got a crowbar for these crates this time around? We can't just shoot them up like the red sand ones."

"I've got it covered." He gives one of the turians by the crates a nod, and said turian produces a crowbar seemingly from nowhere and cracks the crate open. It's filled with some kind of material to cushion the organ…the turian reaches in and pulls what looks like a turian liver out. Result! Looks like we've got ourselves a successful raid!

"Alright," Garrus says, still smiling. "Let's see what we've got here."

**A/N: Well, that was fun. Stealth is cool, right?**

**So next chapter, evidence collection and analysis. That turian liver's going to be important, as people who know about how the case is described by Garrus in ME1 will be aware…good times with that.**

**Oh yeah, it was my birthday yesterday (it was great, got money and Microsoft Points...meaning more ME2 DLC and Lair of the Shadow Broker…), but you guys can still give me a present. If all of you could leave a review, even if it just said 'good chapter' or if you want to write an essay...it would be the best present I could have.**

**Regardless of whether or not you do, thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!**


	27. Ian vs The Dead Man Walking

Chapter 27

**A/N: So last chapter, we found that turian liver. This is where the case begins for real in Garrus's description in ME1, so here we go!**

**I've also had almost no time to check this chapter over...apologies in advance for minor spelling/gramatical errors (if they exist.)**

The putrid stench of the organs fill the air around us, causing the less hardy officers to gag and dash outside for some air. Can't say I blame them…this is almost as bad as that first crime scene I went to during the elcor investigation. A year and a bit of seeing this stuff really kills the effect it should have on you, instead it's more a case of just dealing with it and carrying on as normal. I pinch my nose with my thumb and index finger, Garrus scrunches up his face at the smell, but we keep going through the cargo. There wasn't that much after the turian liver, a lot of the boxes contained contraband like weapons and the like. Turns out my deduction was right, these guys were complete amateurs. From what we managed to learn from the more co-operative guards, they were some new crew or something, hoping to make it big in organised crime throughout the Citadel. Something about becoming the 'fourth big merc group', humans only as well. If there's one thing that should be obvious, institutional racism in mercenary companies when a lot of potential employers are going to be aliens isn't going to work too well, but these guys are frankly idiots.

Still, even idiots can be dangerous if they've got good enough equipment. And these people had bought in some pretty decent weaponry, high quality assault rifles, even a rocket launcher for some reason! It also turned out the only business plan or idea they had was 'buy in illegal goods, then sell illegal goods.' That was it. The Mafia, it ain't. They had a bit of everything, red sand, illegal weapons, and of course plenty of organs to sell as well. Looks like they couldn't work out the difference between being dealers and being mercenaries. Though it's hardly important, they'll all have jail cells to think it out in. Besides, Garrus and I are here for the organs, though the other stuff is definitely an added bonus.

"Not a bad haul," I say to Garrus, grinning a little bit. "It's a hell of a lot more than I was expecting, and we've got another lead on this illegal organ business. Maybe that liver we found'll lead us to back to where this all's coming from." It sounds like speculation when I say it to Garrus…but I know it's true. This is probably the turian liver that gets the entire thing started…and the beginning of a grudge for Garrus. Unless he doesn't get away with it this time.

"Maybe," he muses, "or maybe it'll be like all the other ones, where we get about halfway up the chain and the trail goes cold." I suppose I can't blame him for being pessimistic…every lead we've turned over for the past few months has been a dead end. Things are going to be very different this time though, mate, you just wait and see…

"No harm in checking," I reply, trying to lift his spirits a little bit. "They've been sent back to the lab for analysis, right?"

"We've got people working on it right now. Results should be about half an hour away, then we get to find out which poor bastard they belong to this time."

I nod solemnly, though inside I'm buzzing with excitement. Thirty minutes, and we start this for real…I should be feeling on top of the world considering the Metal Gear Solid shit I pulled ten minutes ago, yet now I've got a mix of anticipation and anxiety filling my gut about what's to come. However, Garrus interrupts my contemplation almost as soon as it begins.

"Shit, Pallin wants a report from us back at C-Sec from us right now…" he mutters, glancing at the message on his omni-tool display. "I'll go get the cruiser round, you sort everyone out around here."

I get all the fun jobs…he gets to drive a flying car, I tell a bunch of trigger happy officers that they'll be bagging and tagging after shooting literally no-one in the entire raid. To put it in the most clichéd way possible, they didn't sign up for this shit.

"Alright everyone!" I shout, and it says something about the reputation I've managed to gain that everyone immediately turns their attention towards me. Heh, that's kind of cool.

"Garrus and I need to make a report back to the Executor. That means you lot are on evidence duty." There's a huge moan from around the room, though it's more in jest than anything as I turn my back and head towards the cruiser.

"If you don't like it, you should have joined the military!" I shout back, jumping into the passenger seat of the cruiser just as Garrus guns the engine, and we go speeding towards C-Sec.

##########

The office is pretty quiet when Garrus and I walk into the department, which makes a quite welcome change. Most of the time we've got turians and humans running around, swearing into phones and trying to keep on top of the mountain of paperwork we have to deal with, but today it's still early morning and only the detectives working on major cases or those trying to get a headstart before the rush of later on in the day are in. We get friendly waves off them as we head towards Pallin's office, and enter without knocking. Yeah, we're so badass we don't even knock.

"Garrus, Ian." Pallin nods his head in greeting as we cross the room towards his desk, and we return the gesture. Jesus, I'm doing it on instinct these days…every time I think about life before this back in 2010 it feels like that's weird now, rather than the other way around. Creepy.

"You said you wanted a report?" Garrus asks, as we both take seats in front of Pallin's desk.

"Indeed," he nods. "I've heard the operation was a success, but I wanted to hear what you found out first hand."

It's odd how much respect Pallin and I managed to build up for each other after about one and a bit years. I find it hard to believe the turian sitting in front of me is the same man I met all that while ago, shouting at me with his xenophobic crap, yet after all the success Garrus and I managed we're probably his most trusted team in the whole Investigation department. Even if he does still think we're a bit headstrong, but I suppose I can't criticise him for that, considering it's kind of true.

"Well," I begin, crossing my legs, "the group smuggling the organs, and other black market goods in were a new start-up organisation. Human only, looking into organised crime starting out with illegal trading with the aim of moving into full time mercenary business."

"Sounds dangerous," Pallin frowns. "I assume they've been dealt with?"

"Looks like we got all the key members. They were just starting out, this delivery was their first big supply. Turned out to be their only supply, as well. It's hard to run a merc company behind bars. Besides, these guys were idiots, total amateurs."

"Sounds like it," Pallin chuckles. "I heard about your role in the plan, Ian. Impressive."

A compliment? Well, he's certainly in a good mood today. "Thanks," I reply, a bit shyly. "It was Garrus's plan, though."

"Well, in that case it's impressive for both of you. But back to business. How are the organs you found?"

"They're being analysed now," Garrus replies. "Should be done soon, within minutes. We got people on it straight away."

Pallin stands up, paces to the back of the room and stares out of his window across the Citadel, back turned to us. "We haven't seen much progress on this organ source, have we?" he asks, though the question is clearly rhetorical. He stands there for a few more seconds, before swivelling around with a real anger in his eyes.

"How can this be happening? Every lead leads us nowhere, we're barely as close to the source of all this as we were when this operation began months ago!" Well, at least he's not blaming us. Not yet, anyway… "It's not your fault, but if we don't start seeing progress soon the Council and my superiors are pressuring me to shut this operation down and try a new approach."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" I'm up in my chair, voice raised a little bit. The Council can't do this now, not when we're this close to getting Saleon! Those useless pricks… "We're getting there, albeit slowly! Think of how many dealers we've shut down, how many groups like the one today we've dealt with!"

"And every time you bring one down, another three pop up to take their place," Pallin sighs, sweeping his talon through the air to emphasise the point. "Look, you two are my best detectives for results. I don't doubt you could do this, but people these days want results. It's out of my hands. If these scans don't give us hard evidence soon, the organ crackdown operation is over for you two."

I consider taking it further, even Garrus looks pretty riled, but I slowly sink back into my chair and he follows my lead. A while ago I would have just shouted at Pallin, but nowadays I appreciate this goes further than him. Having a go at the Executor won't help, especially when he seems genuinely regretful about this. Still, the Council can't seem to make a single good decision sometimes…though if this liver is the one I think it is, this operation is far from done. That's a hell of gamble though, we've found more than one turian liver during this crackdown that hasn't lead us anyway. I can only hope…

"I guess we'll find out in a few minutes, then," Garrus sighs, pretty much summing up the whole mood in the room with his tone of his voice. There's silence, all of us avoiding eye contact, I stare out of the window over the Citadel. Somewhere out there, Saleon's hiding…the lights look like their winking at me, seemingly mocking my inability to act.

There's a sudden beep from both our omni-tools, making me jump slightly and shattering the room's silent atmosphere.

_One new message from: Forensics (C-Sec)_

Shit, here we go, the moment of truth…hands shaking slightly, I open up the message. Just one main line of text.

_Ian and Garrus_

_You need to see this._

_Raif Armstrong_

Looks like we're in business.

"Pallin, we need to go," I say quickly, Garrus is already on his feet and heading out the door. "Don't make the call to end this just yet. Looks like something's come up."

"I'll keep them off you as long as I can," Pallin says, back turned again as he stares out the window. "Just try not to give them a reason."

"Will do," I reply, as I back out of the door.

#############

"That can't be right," Garrus breathes, in shock. "Have you ran the test again?"

"I've tripled checked it," Raif Armstrong, the C-Sec forensics specialist, replies with a tired tone after Garrus's second time of asking. "The DNA doesn't lie."

"But…that can't be right." Garrus repeats. "How can the person this belongs to be alive?"

"Beats me," Raif replies, a little sarcastically. "You two are the detectives. I just do all the crazy science that lets you take all the credit." It sounds bitter, but the smile on Raif's face reveals otherwise. He's a cool guy, on the few occasions I've had to meet him. Enjoys his work, doesn't seem to resent not being in the limelight…I respect that. Similar to me, once upon a time.

"Well," I say, breaking Garrus's stunned awe, "what have we got on this guy? I mean, how many turians do you get walking around without a liver?"

Raif smirks, and turns his head to his terminal screen with the liver owner's face emblazoned on it, along with all his personal details. It's almost scary how much the police know about people here…makes people thinking the UK is a 'police state' in 2010 sound crazy…though that was crazy back then as well.

"Vantis Jakkyn. Not much on record, born on the Citadel into poverty into a family of six, two sisters and two brothers. Got an education but dropped out of school first opportunity he got without good grades, probably to find work to support his family. Pretty tragic, the amount you see this kind of thing," Raif observes. "Managed to get a job in some medical laboratory, still works there now. Lives in some slum place deep in the turian area of the Citadel." He glances back over at me and Garrus. "C-Sec ain't popular around those parts. Especially human officers." He's not bullshiting…there's a history of violence around that area, especially towards police. "You might want to try catching him at work, ask him some questions there. If you bring him in for questioning, I wouldn't mind having a look at him. He must be some biological miracle or something to be able to produce organs from nowhere!"

It's not that simple…but if we catch him at work, that's gonna set a whole chain of events in motion if he works where I think he does. Garrus still looks amazed at what's happened, so I ask the question that's been bothering me since the start of the conversation.

"Where does this guy work?"

"A medical lab near the Presidium. Run by a Doctor Saleon. I'm sending the location to your omni-tools, along with all the case information."

I'm practically out the door by the time he's said that, dragging Garrus along by the arm behind me. "Thanks," I shout, just before leaving. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

"No problem," Raif replies, looking a bit bemused at my sudden exit as he turns back to his terminal. "I look forward to finding out about it."

The door slides shut behind us.

################

Garrus and I charge into Pallin's office, my omni-tool open on the information Raef sent us back in the Forensics department.

"What is it?" Pallin asks impatiently, swivelling around on his desk chair to face us. "I told you, the Council's decision is…"

"This qualify as hard evidence?" I ask, practically shoving the display into Pallin's face to let him read it. His face goes through a mixture of scepticism, then shock, disbelief, and finally he stands there, mouth hanging open slightly.

"It certainly does," he finally manages to mutter. "I'll have a cruiser made ready for you now."

"Thanks." I'm hurrying away again, mind whirling with thoughts about Saleon. I'm finally going to investigate this, what my time here's been building up to…the sheer tension and realisation of the task ahead of us is daunting, but I won't let it stop me.

"Ian, Garrus," Pallin suddenly blurts out, stopping us in out tracks. "This is your last chance to do this. Don't waste it."

"Don't worry," Garrus mutters, with a tone that can only be described as utterly epic. "We won't."

**A/N: Sweet. Bit of a filler chapter, but plot has to be dealt with. Hope you enjoyed it regardless.**

**Wow, the most reviews I've ever got in one chapter last time. Thanks guys, awesome birthday present :-D. Even better than Alan Wake.**

**Okay, so next chapter it all begins for real, with some questions and info gathering at Saleon's lab. Don't miss it!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, see you next chapter!**


	28. Ian vs The Laboratory

Chapter 28

Garrus pilots the cruiser calmly through the sky towards Saleon's lab, looking out of the windscreen with a thoughtful glimmer in his eyes. I, on the other hand, am practically bouncing up and down on my seat in anticipation for what's about to happen. Naturally, I'm thinking about just waltzing through the front door and blowing Saleon's brains out, but I know fine well there's no way I'm going to do that and honestly just consider it to humour myself. I'm going to need hard evidence to take Saleon down here…evidence I doubt he's just going to leave lying around for C-Sec officers to pick up. A certain level of cunning may be in order…

"We got a plan here?" I ask Garrus, knocking him off whatever train of thought he was on. "I know we're going to question a suspect, but the fact he works in a biological lab and seems to be involved in organ smuggling in some way kind of suggests the lab might have something to do with it. You reckon we should be looking for organ producing machinery, that sort of thing, as we go around?"

"Sure, I guess," Garrus replies, a bit half-heartedly. He's still amazed about the nature of the lead in the first place…though I can hardly blame him for that. It's not every day you're tracking down someone who's technically a dead man walking. "Still amazed we're actually doing this…how can someone have donated a liver and still be alive?"

"Don't know," I lie, fully aware of the sick experiments Saleon's been performing, "but you think my theory of the lab being involved has got any merit?"

"I see where you're coming from," he admits, sounding a little conflicted. "But we don't have a warrant to tear the place apart. We've got grounds to take a look around…but other than that there's nothing we can do at the moment."

"That's exactly what I thought." A small smile starts to form on my lips, and I can't help it. Garrus catches on straight away.

"You have a plan?"

I nod, thinking this through as best I can. "You can go interview Vantis Jakkyn for both of us. I doubt he'll have much to say, probably just claim the DNA check's got the wrong results and that he doesn't know anything about it."

"Maybe it did," Garrus points out. "I mean, have you ever heard of a turian with two livers?"

"DNA doesn't lie. If it says that liver belongs to him, I'm pretty damn sure it does. Though annoyingly, we can't arrest Vantis just because we've got a liver that seems to belong to him. The fact he's alive suggests we're in the wrong rather than him." Garrus nods, but looks a little confused.

"You're doing a great job of pointing out how screwed we are, Ian, but is there some kind of plan I'm missing?"

Oh, the sarcasm. It's so scathing. "If you let me finish, maybe I'll tell you," I shoot back, jokingly giving Garrus a disapproving look. "Anyway, you can go waste your time questioning Vantis. I, on the other hand, will do something useful."

"How did I know I'd be doing the worst part of the job?" Garrus groans, facepalming. I ignore him.

"While you talk to him, I'll head into the offices and 'take a look around'." I do the air-quotes for Garrus's benefit. "The guy who runs the lab, , I'm betting his terminal's got any information we need on it about illegal trading."

"And how are you going to do that?" the turian asks cynically. "They aren't just going to let you onto Saleon's computer! And what if he's not even involved?"

"One question at a time." I hold up my hand to stop the barrage of queries from Garrus. "First answer," I open up my omni-tool, "I'll hack it. If he doesn't know I've done it, it won't hurt him, right?" Garrus nods, albeit a little unsurely. I can't believe that he, of all people, is starting to worry about not following proper procedure…looks like I'm getting to him more than I'd hoped. "If he's not involved, he doesn't even know we got his computer information and I just delete it. If he is involved, we get information to act on it. Win-win situation. What have we got to lose?"

"Erm…how about our jobs?" Garrus points out. "This is just supposed to be a questioning, not espionage." But his tone's not serious, and I know he was onboard as soon as I mentioned the plan.

"Relax, I'll be careful." He growls a little bit as the cruiser starts to descend before to the lab.

"When have I heard that before?" We head towards the landing pad, and Garrus touches down, sighing slightly as the cruiser settles onto the ground and the engine powers off. "Alright, I'll distract everyone in the lab as long as I can. But you get straight to Saleon's computer and download as much as you can, got it? Spirits, the last thing we need is for you to get caught, especially with the whole organ operation hanging in the balance."

"You don't have to remind me." He really doesn't as well, this is pretty intense for me. I know the stakes go even higher than Garrus thinks. "But we've got to do this. Think of all the dead ends we've been getting, this might be our chance to actually get somewhere with this."

"I know, Ian." Garrus grumbles. "It's just not the ideal way of going about it."

Oh, man up Garrus. We'll see if you're saying that by the time you're on Omega…

"If there's one thing I've found out in my time at C-Sec, you don't get good results trying the ideal way."

"True," he replies, perking up a little bit and hopping out of the cruiser as I follow suit. Fair play to Saleon, he seems to have a nice place here. The exterior screams money, high class modern architecture showing what can only be described as an expensive exterior. So, as well as being a psycho, Saleon's also a show off. Motherfucker…

#############

"We're here to see Vantis Jakkyn," Garrus announces as we walk into the lobby, as we both flash our C-Sec badges. The human secretary on the desk looks up, expression making it clear to the entire room that she couldn't give a shit why we're here. Some people…she glances at the badges, gives a little shrug and turns back to her terminal screen, scrolling through an extranet as she gives her almost robotic reply.

"Go straight in, officers. He should be on the third floor, medical research," she monotones, the screen completely taking her interest. Jesus, I don't know what Saleon does to get his employees so motivated around here…I sneak a glance over her shoulder at the screen to see what's got her attention. Jesus Christ, is that a fanfic for that crap drama Rebecca loves to watch? The one thing that didn't deserve to be written more about has an online following? I almost shoot the terminal screen in outrage, but just about manage to contain my emotions except for the tiny snarl that escapes my lips as Garrus and I head towards the elevator.

"What're you so worked up about?" Garrus asks innocently as we step into the elevator. I can hardly tell him I used to write fanfiction before I came to this universe, so I fob him off with a simple shrug as he presses the button for the third floor. It's probably a fair assumption that Saleon's office is gonna be on the top floor, so I press the number seven for that. A loud buzz fills the elevator, and a robotic voice pretty much yells '_Access Denied!' _into our ears, making both Garrus and I jump with fright. Jesus, that was like the hearing the rogue AI in Overlord for the first time…quite a bloody shock. There's a small slot underneath the buttons on the elevator…you probably need a cardkey or something to get it open. Looks like Saleon's basing his security system on a clichéd idea of finding keys and cards…classy. No matter, though, as I open up my omni-tool and start hacking through the restrictions.

"Like stealing candy from a baby," I mutter, and receive a horrified look off Garrus.

"What? That's a horrible thing to say," he exclaims, looking a bit shocked. Of course, human idioms…Christ, if you didn't know what that meant it would sound a bit weird.

"It's a human idiom, means that something's really easy?" Garrus still looks shocked, shaking his head.

"That's barbaric," he mutters, though his tone suggests some amusement. "You humans are such animals." Oh yeah, he's definitely taking the piss now. Why are Mass Effect elevators so fucking slow!

"Laugh it up, Garrus." I fiddle with the hack program a little bit, and the progress bar shoots up to 100% at my minor intervention. Alright, progress! I press the seven again, and this time it lights up green rather than triggering the robot version of Hitler to scream in my ear again, thank God. I also set the hack to slightly up the elevator's needlessly slow speed, quickly launching Garrus and I to the third floor.

He hops out of the lift as the doors slide open, and turns around to look at me, sticking a talon in the elevator so the doors don't slide shut.

"I can probably distract them for about ten minutes," he says, nervously looking around to make sure no-one can hear him. "That's ten minutes at best, you understand! Get in, get out, no distractions."

"Distractions?" I do my best to look hurt. "I'm insulted, Garrus." He just growls in a John Casey-esque manner and removes the talon, allowing the doors to slide shut in front of me. Resting my head back on the elevator wall, I consider the situation. I know Saleon's guilty, which in one way is helpful from my perspective, and in another a pain in the ass because I've got no way of proving it. Still, hopefully his terminal should give me something, if not hard evidence then maybe some lead to follow up on. I just hope I can prove something before the good doctor decides to escape from the station…the elevator, encouraged by my tampering, heads to the seventh floor surprisingly quickly, and the doors open up to a very, very futuristic office.

I step out, gazing over the massive expanse projected into the room. The whole place has a very Illusive Man feel to it, though instead of a dying star Saleon's got what looks like a vista of Sur'Kesh, the salarian homeworld. Huh, didn't have Saleon down as the sentimental type…and it is actually quite beautiful, seeing the salarian homeworld like this. Similar to the way the ARI specs in Heavy Rain project the image, except obviously I can't feel the wind in my hair here or anything like that, though genuinely does seem like quite a nice place…and I'm getting distracted.

Saleon's terminal lies on the desk in the centre of the room, on the middle of the cliff projected under my feet that overlooks the ground of the planet. This does feel disconcertingly lifelike...I'm not afraid of heights or anything, but it's almost too real to feel safe, not a design choice I'd go for. As if I got enough money from C-Sec to pay for this kind of place anyway. I open up the terminal, completely unsurprised to see the password screen staring back at me. The chances of him leaving his personal computer unprotected were very small, indeed. Just like Shiara said, though, everything electronic can be broken into. The hack I require needs to be set up manually…so if I send the probe through that circuit, infiltrate the program through that circuit…man, Saleon's got an advanced piece of kit here. Initially I'd planned to actually look through and pick out the information I needed, but it looks like it's gonna be a lot quicker and easier just to download everything to my omni-tool and take it from there. Fortunatley, Saleon's just got text documents and that kind of thing, as opposed to any massive files…still gonna fill up my omni-tool memory like a bitch, but it's worth it in the long run. I set the hack program to copy everything over, make sure I've got the right systems set up, and let it loose. The omni-tool display flashes up an estimated time of about four minutes. What is it with stuff in this universe being so slow…first the elevators, now this. Still, not much I can do about it, so I just pace around the room admiring the view. For some reason, Saleon's set it up so the cliff edge is actually within the room, meaning I can walk over and stare at the apparent two hundred foot drop down. Hmm, I wonder…I tense my legs, primal part of my brain screaming at me not to, but I ignore it and jump out, landing a few metres away from where I started, looking down at the chasm below me. Holy shit, that feels epic, like I'm floating…I take back what I said before, I want one of these for my office. I stand there for a few minutes, thinking about how it puts a whole new spin on what it feels like to 'walk on air'…out of nowhere, the image suddenly vanishes, replaced instead with a white coloured floor and walls. What the hell…

"Who are you?" A high pitched salarian voice asks as the elevator door slides open. No fucking way, not now! "What are you doing in my office?" Saleon asks, eyes narrowed in suspicion. I steal a glance at the omni-tool display, which cheerily informs me there's one minute left until all the files download. I hid the omni-tool behind my back as soon as Saleon walked in, but I can't put it into standby or it'll cancel the download…if he walks over to me, I'm screwed. I just need to keep him talking for one minute…

"C-Sec," I say, adopting a tone that sounds a lot more confident than I'm feeling at the moment. It's another one of those moments where I consider just shooting the bastard…but I'm seeing this through to the end. I shoot him, it's the start of a slope into the kind of thing a Renegade would do, even something Saren might try. I'm not that kind of person, so we do this by the book. Or as close to it as possible. "Your secretary told me I could find you up here."

But Saleon's not stupid, and it doesn't seem like he's falling for it, advancing towards me at an alarming rate. The horrifying thought he might try killing me crosses my mind, but I quickly dismiss it. That wouldn't be his style, and he wouldn't take a risk that big. That does still leave the large problem of me being found out, though.

"How did you get up here?" he shouts, fury apparent in his beady little eyes. What I'd give to hit him…but I need to minimise suspicion, and if I do that the operation's as good as over. Bugger! "That elevator is keycard protected!"

I almost say 'I noticed' through instinctive sarcasm, but hold myself back just in time. I really need to get rid of sarcasm as a defence mechanism.

"She gave me temporary access," I bluff, knowing damn well Saleon's going to find I'm lying soon but not really caring. Just so long as I get the download and get out the building before that happens, we're fine. He's slowing down a bit now, but he'll be up in my face in about ten seconds, and'll have noticed the omni-tool about five after that. "I really like what you've done with the office here," I blurt, frantically thinking of stuff to say. Amazingly, Saleon stops and thoughtfully looks around the now whitewashed walls.

"It was on Sur'Kesh," he says, voice now lowered a little. "Salarian homeworld. Didn't think a human would appreciate that kind of thing." Meh, I'll let the casual racism slide. He isn't distracted for long though, advancing towards me again, tone back to its old threatening self. "So, _C-Sec, _who are you, and what do you want up here?"

Yeah, like hell I'm telling him my real name. I say the first name that comes into my head. "Carmichael. Detective Charles Carmichael." I almost facepalm as soon as I say it. Chuck Bartowski's spy name? That's the first thing that pops into my head? Fuck me… "And I'm here to ask you some questions." I finish, still reeling from my stupidity. In a time of crisis, I think of Chuck? What am I going to be like when I meet Miranda?

"Am I under arrest?" Saleon asks.

"No…"

"Do I have to answer any questions, then?"

"No, but…"

Saleon's right up by me now. Shit, I've got no choice! I shut down the omni-tool, inwardly grimacing as I do. That sure as hell didn't feel like a minute…

"Then you're in a restricted area, and I suggest you leave. Immediately." Now that I've got nothing more to be here for, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Time to make my daring escape!

"I won't take any more of your time," I reply hastily, holding up my hands and walking back to the elevator as quick as I can. "Sorry to have bothered you." Saleon hisses with disgust, just as the elevator doors close in front of me. The button for the lobby lights up straight away. Bet he did that from his computer. I bring my omni-tool arm out from behind my back, and hesitantly pop it open. The screen takes a few nail-biting seconds to load back up…

'_Download Complete.'_

I gasp out the breath I didn't even realise I was holding in, relief flooding through my system. I put a finger to my ear, activating the radio between Garrus and I.

"Garrus? You hearing me?"

"_Loud and clear," _the reply crackles in my ear. "_You get anything?"_

"Oh, I got more than that." I say, unable to stop the grin spreading across my face. "Meet me in the lobby. We've got a lot to look at."

**A/N: Ah, nothing like a chapter almost filled to the brim with references, eh?**

**How important will that data be? Well, it's not going to be the silver bullet Ian and Garrus were going for…but leads shall come of it. Plenty of shenanigans to go before we're done with this stuff, don't you worry ;-).**

**The sheer amount of reviews is crazy at the moment…you guys keep it up, I appreciate it more than words can say. 300 reviews by the time Masses to Masses 1 is done? (It's not long now…) We'll have to wait and see.**

**Okay, thanks for reading and reviewing, and see you next chapter!**


	29. Ian vs The Boredom

Chapter 29

**A/N: Yes, the chapter titles are all nods to Chuck, for those of you asking. Have a virtual internet cookie if you noticed.**

**That said and done, on with the chapter!**

Garrus and I didn't hang around after we got the information from Saleon's office. Bearing in mind the crazy salarian was probably able to find out I was lying to him in a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds, my attitude when we exited the elevator was to 'run like we stole something', to quote what I told Garrus on the ride down. We jumped into the cruiser and pulled away, just as Saleon's secretary answered the phonecall that was probably Saleon checking my alibi. Now we're on our way back to C-Sec, I've got my head rested against the back of the seat and Garrus is pushing the cruiser as fast as it can go.

"Relax, Garrus, we're not in high speed pursuit," I say, breaking the tense silence that came quite naturally after we both ran out of a secure lab with illegally obtained information. All for the greater good, of course! I glance out the back window of the cruiser. "We're not, are we?"

"No." He looses off the accelerator a bit, and the car speed drops back to normal. Thank Christ, that wasn't the most comfortable car ride I've had. More like what being thrown around in the Mako would feel like, rather than being driven along in a regular car. Garrus swivels slightly to look at me, keeping one beady eye on the road but sufficiently relaxed to talk now. "So much for subtlety, then," he mutters, sounding a little amused and not at all surprised. "And here I was thinking we could just walk out with the information."

"So we had to jog out instead of walking, you lazy bastard. We still got the information, right?" I light up the omni-tool, display of downloaded files filling up the screen. Apparently there's almost a hundred pages of files to read…looks like we're in for a real treat when we get back to C-Sec. "Wasn't quite able to use the finesse I wanted, though. We've got a lot to be wading through files to get done here."

Garrus looks pissed off that we're going to be spending a significant chunk of the afternoon reading through text files, and I can't say I blame him. I hate reading files, playing Resident Evil does that to you…

"You were right about Vantis," the disgruntled turian says, trying to avoid the subject of all the work looming ahead of us as much as he can. "He almost quoted you, word for word. He claimed the DNA scan was false, we'd got the wrong guy…all that crap."

"Told you," I reply, but my voice is flat when I say it as I stare out of the cruiser window. Saleon saw me and by now he'll know I lied to him back in the office…what does that mean? Shit, what if it causes him to flee early? What if he sends people to kill me or something? An assassination like that doesn't seem like Saleon's style, though, and something minor like that probably won't cause him to flee. He'll know we've got nothing concrete, and I'm betting he'll only run from the profit he's got going here when he absolutely has to. The thought strengthens my resolve to catch him even more, no matter how many text files I have to fight through!

"I can't believe we found no hard evidence in that place," Garrus says suddenly, jarring me out of my thoughts. "I mean, we had a serious piece of evidence there that points to Dr. Saleon, and nothing comes of it!"

"Relax, Garrus, I'm sure these data files will have something. He was pretty keen to get me out his office, and you don't treat a C-Sec officer like that unless you've got something to hide."

"Or he could just be an ass," Garrus points out. Hmm, true…

"I think it's a bit of both in this case." He laughs at that, and I can't help chuckling a little bit myself at the surrealism of the situation. This is probably the most important case I'll ever deal with in C-Sec, what all this organ trading business has been leading up to…and I'm cracking jokes with Garrus instead of crapping my pants like a normal person. Though considering everything that's happened to me, I guess I'm beyond the definition of 'normal' now. The C-Sec building looms into view in the distance, and Garrus lets out a long sigh.

"Make sure you're going to be comfortable in there," he mutters. "Something tells me we won't be leaving for a while."

Jesus, don't remind me Garrus. I'm starting to wish I'd taken the time use the hack to check Saleon's computer beforehand rather than just copying everything over…

#########

Yeah, I'm definitely wishing I'd taken a little more time to be precise. The text files are almost endless, a load of accounting information, medical research papers, employee terminal monitoring…if there's one thing apparent from all the data, Saleon's a paranoid bastard, and he doesn't trust anyone. He's got records of every extranet hit on his employee's terminals, every bit of mail they send, even what music they listen to during work! Makes me wonder if Pallin has a similar system in C-Sec…but I doubt even he is that much of a prick. We're getting towards the last page of files, and Garrus and I've been working on the whole thing for about three hours now. We started work at about one o'clock, it's just gone past four now. Boredom set in at about ten minutes, but no choice but to push on. Would I rather have fought Caltan Xenvalis again over doing this? Asked me a few hours, I'd have said now, but that idea seems more and more appealing every time I think about it now…

I click on another file, mentally preparing myself for the stimulating task of reading yet another wall of text. Jesus, repetitive strain injury's going to set in on my clicking finger if I'm not careful…how embarrassing would that be, put out of action by a computer terminal…the document's all about recent strides forward in the treatment of Kerpal's Syndrome, funnily enough! I know it's not related to the case, but that's actually pretty interesting, which makes a change from all the other crap I've been reading. Apparently it's little steps in the treatment as a whole, alterations to the kind of aerobic activities and such that sufferer's should use…not interesting to your average person, but for Thane Krios, somewhere far away from my desk at C-Sec, this could be of vital importance. It's so weird, thinking about all those squad-members, living their lives outside of the Normandy and the Reapers…a sudden cry from Garrus tears my attention away from the screen.

"It would be the last fucking file we check, wouldn't it?" he shouts, excitement written across his face. I push my chair over to his terminal screen to see what all the fuss is about. I swear, if he's fucking with me now, I'll tear his fringe off and stick it somewhere he definitely doesn't want it to go…

"Building details," he crows. That's it?

"What!" I reply, flabbergasted. He got me all worked up over _this? _"So what? I've lost count of the amount of details I've read about Saleon's lab…"

"It's not the lab," Garrus says, still smiling to himself. "Details of one building, in a rougher part of town to his lab. There's no record of it anywhere else in his files, apparently it's used for 'deliveries', some label suitably vague like that. One thing I know from all the time we've spent on this organ stuff, if someone has a building they try to keep secret and then act vague about it when they have to, it's a supply base."

Holy shit, we might actually have something worth three hours of my life that I'm never getting back… "You sure about this, Garrus?"

"Take a look if you don't believe me." I oblige him, scanning through the data quickly. It's true, in all of Saleon's detailed accounts and tax stuff I've never seen this building mentioned…it looks like some kind of warehouse or office complex, almost derelict looking, only two floors high. Not the kind of place you'd expect Saleon to own, and exactly the kind of place you'd expect something shady to be going down. I swivel back around to talk to Garrus, but he's already out of his seat and strapping his pistol to his waist.

"Whoa, where the hell are you going?" I ask, rising to my feet, although I've got a pretty good idea already.

"To get the shopping, I though we were running out of drinks," he replies, the sarcasm literally dripping off his tongue. He couldn't just come out with a straight answer, could he… "To investigate that building, of course! You think I'm going to sit in the office while we've got a lead to check?"

"No, but…"

"Ian, I'm going stir crazy in here. I need to go outside, this is exactly the thing I need. You got any better leads?"

I sigh. Damn, I hate it when he's right. "Get the cruiser," I resign myself to saying. He's like an overexcited child, sometimes, I swear to God… "I'll get my stuff together and meet you outside."

#########

Around fifteen minutes later, we touch down outside Saleon's building. Garrus was eager to go, alright, the turian was practically bouncing up and down on the driving seat he was so happy to have an excuse not to read text files anymore. I admit, I'm pretty pleased as well, I just don't want to be too optimistic yet. This kind of place could offer a significant lead…hell, this could be what brings Saleon tumbling down, for all I know! Best not to get too overexcited yet, the place does look like a bit of a dump. Two story building, like the picture showed, the second floor has a complete glass fronting, though God knows why someone would want to look out of the windows. The street we're standing in is filthy, open skips and litter bins are strewn haphazardly across the street, leaking their pungent smell into the air. In short, not the nicest location to be working in.

"I'm not getting an 'evil mastermind' vibe off this place, Garrus," I say, only half-joking. "You don't think we're wasting our time?"

"No, otherwise I wouldn't be here." He strides towards the door of the building, and I hop into step behind him. The door is open when we reach it, surprisingly. That's weird, you'd expect it to be locked in this kind of place…not that I'm complaining there's one less obstacle in our way. The interior isn't much better than the exterior, one dilapidated corridor stretches ahead of us, branching off into three about thirty metres ahead. Garrus shoots up a building schematic on his omni-tool, and we both glance at it. According to the map, there's one large main room on the second floor. I'm not usually one for clichés, but I'd be more than willing to bet that's where any of our answers'll be. Garrus seems to come to the same conclusion, giving me a nod and heading off down the corridor, following the fastest route to that central room. My hand hovers over my pistol as we walk along…I'm getting an incredibly bad vibe from this place. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the silence, maybe it's the sheer rundown atmosphere of the place, but it's keeping me on edge. Or, maybe it's just me being fucking paranoid…

We head up the stairs to the second floor, snaking along even further with multiple crossroads. My God, this place is so bland it's amazing…if there's secrets in here, Saleon's plan was probably to have the people searching for them to get hopelessly lost, or die from the sheer boredom of seeing the same blank corridor style over and over again…it's like the kind of thing you'd see in a bad Nintendo 64 game, for God's sake! After about a few minutes of traipsing around and almost getting lost twice due to Garrus's appalling map reading skills, we finally arrive into the central room. It's not as big as the building plan made out…around the size of Saleon's office, with a layout not too dissimilar as well, minus the insane wall projection. Instead, it's a box of grey concrete, almost completely bare except for the desk and terminal sitting on it. Garrus and I both jog over to it immediately, glad to have actually found something worth looking at after all the time we've spent in here…if boredom could kill, I'd have died several times over at the amount of crap I've had to put with up in the last few hours!

I fire up the terminal screen, and it loads straight away, not even asking for a password. Alright, that's really weird…first the door's unlocked, now we've got a computer with no security protection at all. My spider-senses are tingling…I take a step back from the computer, but Garrus rushes straight into the gap, hovering a talon over the button to view the computer files. Something doesn't feel right…

"Garrus," I start to say, "This is wrong. It feels like this is some kind of…"

But the turian's acting as I say the words, reaching out and pressing the relevant key. The screen suddenly turns black, and then refreshes itself almost as quickly as the image disappeared. What we see isn't the friendly 'My Computer' screen Garrus pressed on.

Instead, there's a picture of a bomb, and a timer merrily ticking away in the bottom corner. The display reads 0:05.

"Trap?" Garrus finishes my sentence, swivelling his head towards me. The look in his eyes and on his face suggest he's come to the same conclusion I have.

That timer probably isn't in minutes.

Get the fuck out.

**A/N: Cliffhanger! Oh, you love them, don't deny it.**

**Why's there a bomb in Saleon's building? Who put it there? All those questions will be answered next chapter, and more…suffice to say, this where the endgame really, REALLY begins. I reckon I've got approximately three or four chapters of the Saleon investigation, then two epilogue chapters after that, before Masses to Masses 1 is done. So yeah, exciting times ahead!**

**I realise I haven't been updating as quick as normal, but school is keeping me obscenely busy. This is how my update rate is probably going to stay, thank you all for your patience :-).**

**And of course, thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, especially the sudden rise in recent chapters, it's freakin' awesome. Keep it up!**

**Alright, I'd better to get to work on the next chapter. Until next time…**


	30. Ian vs The Great Escape

Chapter 30

Garrus and I break for the door simultaneously, all thoughts of searching the computer gone in exchange for running the hell away from it as fast as possible! Garrus gets out of the room just in front of me, and I crash through the door less than half a second after he does. Shit, I wonder how long's left on…

A huge explosion behind us answers that question, heat searing up the back of my legs as we both dash away from the door. My unprotected legs. Shit, no kinetic barriers, no nothing…I get lit on fire here, there's no second chances. Same for Garrus. The explosion shockwave causes me to stagger, but I pull my balance back and slide to a halt next to Garrus about ten metres away from the door, where smoke's pouring out into the hallway. Jesus Christ, that was far too close…

"What are you betting Saleon got here before we did?" I gasp. He must have worked out I got his computer information, knew it would lead us here, so got his people to empty it out and leave a little surprise for us…

"Unbelievable!" Garrus shouts, furiously. "That little bastard…" Out of nowhere, another explosion rocks the hallway from another small room less than two metres from us, sending both the turian and I sprawling to the floor and blitzing my senses. My ears are ringing, whole body aching from being thrown to the floor…Garrus shouts something unintelligible, voice echoing around and around, before I feel myself being grabbed by a talon and dragged to my feet.

"Get up, Ian!" Garrus shouts into my face. "We need to go, now!"

I shake my head, clearing away the shellshock as best I can, and set off in a sprint along the corridor, close on Garrus's heels. Another explosion rockets out from a room just a metre in front of us, blowing said room's door of its hinges and sending a ball of flame into the corridor in front of us. No time to stop…time to do a Shepard in the first mission of ME2 and run through fire! I shield as much of my face as I can with my arms and sprint through, for a split second the world around me turns red, everything's searing hot…then I'm out, gasping in lungfulls of air and pounding along the corridor, drawing level with Garrus. It wouldn't be good enough for Saleon just to blow up the one room, he's got the whole building rigged to explode! How could this get any worse?

"_Fire detected," _an electronic voice rings out. "_All personal evacuate immediately. Sealing fire shutters in relevant areas." _Shit, that's how…about thirty metres ahead of us, a metal sheet starts to descend slowly towards the floor. At this rate, it'll trap us in about five seconds. Fucking hell, he's not making this easy!

"Garrus!" I shout, in way of a warning, pointing ahead of us. He acknowledges that by sprinting even faster, as we gun it along the corridor shoulder to shoulder. The sheet's only about a metre off the floor, going to have to slide it…Garrus and I both drop at the same time, sliding along the floor, heads just passing under the shutter as it slams shut behind us. Good thing this isn't Indiana Jones, if I'd tried to reach back for a hat then my hand would have been cut clean off! I roll up and onto my feet, reaching out to Garrus and pulling him up, as we both accelerate again down the corridor. Another explosion behind us rocks the corridor and creates a shockwave that ripples along the corridor, knocking my stride off and sending me staggering. Shit, I'm gonna fall…out of nowhere, Garrus lunges out and grabs me just before I topple, giving me a push forward as I regain my balance. That's another time he's probably saved my life…I'm really starting to lose count of the amount of times he's done that now. A crossroad looms into sight ahead, the corridor branching into three. Shit, I can't remember which way we came from!

"Which way?" I shout to Garrus. His eyes widen in panic and the sudden realisation that we're lost, at the worst possible time.

"Left!" It's blatantly obvious it's a total guess on his part, but I've hardly got time to point that out right now! We skid around the corner, heading down the left corridor…almost running face first into the already closed shutter. Fuck! We lose precious seconds turning around, then hurtle down the opposite corridor as flames engulf the corridor we were standing in just seconds before. I feel like looking back, but focus on the corridor ahead, knowing the cost just one mistake could make here. Jesus, what if we run into a dead end…and it can't take much more damage for the building just to collapse or something. The worries run around in my head, but I snuff them out. Just keep running, and keep following Garrus. It's just like a quick time event, keep hammering a button to run, hit all the dodge prompts…

There's yet another explosion, this time it feels like it came from below us, blowing a hole in the floor just ahead of us. Shit! Garrus and I both leap over it at the same time, time seeming to slow as I pass over the gap, staring down into the flames below, almost reaching up to try and consume me…then it all lurches back to normality as we hit another crossroads. Two of the three options are already shut off…it feels horribly like we're being funnelled in. We head down the only available corridor, my legs feeling like lead and my lungs burning, and see another shutter sliding to the floor. Shit, there's no way we're going to make it to this one!

Garrus opens up his omni-tool, fiddling around with it while he runs. What the hell is he…an electric charge bursts from the omni-tool, sending electricity coursing through the shutter and jamming it in place. I try to shout some kind of compliment to Garrus, but my lungs need all the air they can get and the words die in my mouth. We both dive under the shutter as the Overload stops working, causing the shutter to come crashing down at incredible speed behind us. It leads us down yet another straight corridor, explosions going off seemingly everywhere in the building, heat from the fires raging around the place turning every corridor into a sauna. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep running for, even with all the adrenaline in my system…we round a corner, and hit the dead end I was dreading. We've ended up in a wide, open room, the area with all the glass fronted windows, no corridors out except the one we came from. The one with flames rushing up it towards us.

Garrus is frantically looking around, searching for the exit we both know isn't there…he grabs my arm suddenly, sprinting towards the windows and dragging me along with him. Oh shit, I see where this is going!

"Garrus, that's a two storey drop! You're gonna kill us!" The turian says nothing, narrowing his eyes at the windows ahead. We're only about ten metres away from them, and closing in fast…he's not stopping. Oh God.

"You're out of your…" I start shouting, but don't have time to finish the sentence. Garrus jumps at the window shoulder-first, passing through it with a resounding crash as glass shatters all around us. I feel a nick on my arm from a stray shard, we're going straight outwards…then gravity kicks in, and the stomach churning descent begins. I shout out, an unintelligible cry of fear and euphoria, as Garrus and I dive headfirst towards the ground.

And the open rubbish skip directly below us.

I land on my back, managing to turn the dolphin dive into a half-flip, but the impact still knocks the wind out of me as I slam down into the layers of trash. Garrus lands at exactly the same time, though he seems to faceplant due to the groan of pain I hear from his landing spot. Above us, the fire continues to rage in the building…before one final explosion blows out all the windows above us, causing glass arrows to rain down on the street. I shield my head with my hands, getting a few cuts for my troubles, but it's better than a piece of glass through my eye. I draw in the fresh, smoke-free air greedily, recovering sufficiently to crawl over to Garrus, who's managed to right himself and is leaning against the side of the skip, coughing and wheezing all the smoke out of his lungs.

"You alright?" I manage to ask. He nods vigorously, before breaking into another coughing fit. Looks like smoke inhalation and turians don't agree too well…come to think of it, I've never actually seen a turian smoke before.

"I'm fine," he wheezes. The sound of sirens breaks into the air. Of course, C-Sec will be on it's way…

"Why is it that every building we go into has to blow up?" I ask absent-mindedly, getting a little chuckle from Garrus.

"Because of bastards like Saleon," he mutters back. Ah, good point. "He set us up! Must have worked out we were coming here and cleared it out, then planted that trap to bring us down with the building! Planted the explosives, then hacked the fire shutters to trap us in."

Good job, Captain Obvious. "I know. The only problem is, you got any proof of that?"

Garrus looks surprised, then gradually more and more angry as the reality hits him. "You mean…"

"We can't put this on him. As far as everyone else could be concerned, this might be some kind of terrorist attack on his building, and we can't prove otherwise. Hell, he might even get insurance money from all this."

"What!" Garrus shouts. "I'm not letting him get away with this, mark my words," he growls, fury in his eyes.

"If we're going to stop him, we're going to need evidence, Garrus," I say, trying to calm him down. And I thought Renegarrus had gone for the foreseeable future…

"Don't remind me." His voice is calmer, and the rage in his eyes dies down a little bit. "No more games. When we get back to C-Sec, I want all his employees pulled in for questioning. We're getting to the bottom of this, one way or the other." Questioning Saleon's employees…we're getting close. This is where we should find out that Saleon is using his workers as test subjects and get all the evidence we need to arrest him…provided he doesn't escape first.

Looks like the clock's ticking.

###########

C-Sec turned up on the scene pretty promptly, along with the fire crew and some medics for Garrus and I. It's Rebecca's day off today, meaning I had my hands bandaged by some sullen male doctor who seemed to take any attempts at forming a conversation as a personal insult. Still, it's probably better than Rebecca fussing all over me and freaking out that I got into even more trouble…I'll save that for when I get home. Garrus and I took a cruiser back to C-Sec as soon as we could, arriving later than I'd hoped, at about seven pm. The Citadel's starting its night cycle, and most of C-Sec is empty except for a few officers putting in overtime as we storm through the front doors towards Pallin's office. Which we're standing in right now, about to explain ourselves to the Executor.

"You two have a habit of costing me more than you're worth sometimes," he growls, anger and disappointment written across his face. "You blow up a building belonging to a well respected medical researcher, and come back with absolutely nothing to show for it?"

"We didn't blow it up!" I protest. "It was a set-up! Saleon must have worked out we were coming and planted the bomb beforehand to take us out with everything in there!"

"Where's your proof for that claim?" Pallin asks. He wasn't ever just going to take our word for it, was he…Garrus delivers the answer neither of us really wanted to say.

"We don't have any," he admits. The look on Pallin's face could melt steel. "Any evidence went up in flames along with the building."

I'm expecting Pallin to start up his typical fit of screaming and shouting at us, but instead he just shakes his head, sits behind his desk, and sighs.

"You two have been working here for a year and a bit now. I don't approve of your methods…" I can't help smirking a little bit at that, but Pallin's glare wipes it off my face, "but you always get solid results. I don't think you blew up that building." Hallefuckinglujah! "But I can't do anything about what you're accusing Dr. Saleon of. Attempted murder is a huge allegation, even with evidence, and you want to build up a case against a respected salarian based on your word against his?" He shakes his head solemnly. "There's nothing you can do. It's out of my hands."

"Not quite nothing," Garrus says, taking a step forward. "We're still investigating one of Saleon's employees on suspected organ trading and smuggling. All we need to do is call in everyone who works at his lab, and see what they can tell us."

Pallin leans back in his chair, looking thoughtful. If Pallin's one thing (aside from a total bastard sometimes), it's cautious. I can't tell exactly what's going on in his mind right now, but I can imagine he's weighing up the consequences of everything carefully, thinking about what could happen if he lets us go ahead with out plan…

"Alright," he says, leaning back forwards in his chair. Yes! "We'll call them in for questioning tomorrow." No! We need them questioned right now, before Saleon has time to act!

"Sir," Garrus protests immediately. "We need to do this now, before Saleon can react!" My thoughts exactly, Garrus, almost word for word. Actually, that's kind of weird…

"My decision is final, detectives!" Pallin shouts unexpectedly, shooting up from his seat and towering over both me and Garrus. "It's late, most of our officers are already at home, we don't have the manpower for it to work tonight." I open my mouth to say something, anything, to make him reconsider, but he holds up his talon for silence.

"I don't want to hear it, Ian! Both of you go home, get some rest, get into the office first thing tomorrow. We'll bring the employees in then." There's no arguing with Pallin when he's made his mind up…as much as I hate to admit it, we've got no choice but to wait. Garrus and I both head out the office, Garrus mumbling 'uptight bastard' as we walk out.

"What was that, Vakarian?" Pallin shouts from behind us. Oh, for fuck's sake!

"Nothing," Garrus shoots back, not even bothering to turn around as we walk out the door, and it slides shut behind us.

###########

Garrus and I don't have much to say to each other as we leave C-Sec, each of us lost in our own thoughts, though we're both probably thinking the same thing.

Bloody Pallin.

Eventually, we reach the point where we have to go our separate ways, me towards Rebecca's apartment, Garrus back to his house.

"So…" I break the silence. "First thing tomorrow, into C-Sec, right? Don't be late."

"I won't." He heads off, then swivels around, smiling a little bit. "Do you want another message like the one this morning? Get you to work a bit quicker?"

Son of a bitch… "Do you want to keep your head attached to the rest of your body?"

"I'd like to see you try," he scoffs, heading off into the distance. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you." I shout after him, before he disappears around a corner into the Citadel's urban jungle. I head off towards the apartment, chuckling a little bit to myself as I go. We almost get blown up, have our investigation delayed by Pallin…and he's still making jokes. It takes a certain kind of person to do that...Suddenly, my omni-tool starts beeping, indicating an incoming call. Ah, it's probably Rebecca, wondering where I am…

"Hello?" I say, pressing the button to answer the call, sound coming through the tiny headset in my ear.

"Hello, Detective Carmichael." Saleon's voice crackles through into my ear. "There's some things I think we need to discuss."

**A/N: Yay, two cliffhanger endings in a row! **

**Next chapter is going to be a rather subdued affair compared to all the explosions and shit in this one, but no less important! We're drawing ever closer to the end here…probably five chapters of Masses to Masses 1 left. **

**And holy crap, the reviewing numbers, it's gone mad, I tell you. Mad! Once again, thanks to everyone who's reviewed. Shout-outs are in order at the end of the fic :-). **

**Next chapter is going to take longer to write, because I have school Monday to Friday (I get a hell of a lot more work done on the weekends), but I'll get it done as fast as I can!**

**Alright, have a good one!**


	31. Ian vs The Phonecall

Chapter 31

**A/N: Sorry in advance for any spelling/grammar stuff that slips through the net, yet another chapter I've had barely any time to check :-P**

**Enjoy!**

My heart misses a beat as I recognise the voice scratching through the headset into my ear. Jesus Christ, Saleon is calling me…what the hell does this mean? How did he get my number? Is there a sniper aiming at me as we speak? I frantically scan the rooftops, searching for the telltale glint of a sniper scope, but see nothing. Shit, what if it's like that film, The Phonebox, or something, and Kiefer Sutherland's hiding somewhere ready to shoot me…

"Saleon," I finally manage to gasp, retaining enough of my composure and dignity to reply without screaming down the microphone. "How did you get this number? What the hell do you…"

"Information like that isn't too hard to find, Detective Carmichael, everyone has a price. Even C-Sec officers." Bastard has informants in C-Sec, as well! "Or should that be Detective ******? Maybe just Ian? I'd rather end the Charles Carmichael charade as soon as possible." Bugger, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise he found out my real name if he can get my omni-tool details…wait, idea! I quickly press a button on my omni-tool to record the call. Intimidation tactics might be a good idea for him, but this could be all the evidence I need to secure his downfall!

"What do you want, Saleon?" I growl, ignoring the blatant jibe that he's found out my name. If he responds to Saleon, that proves on the recording who I'm talking to…

"We'll get to that in good time, Ian. I should probably tell you straight away, any attempts to record the conversation will fail. The data stream I'm using will corrupt any recording you make to incomprehensible static." For fuck's sake, I should have known he wouldn't make an amateurish mistake like that… "I don't want you to be too disappointed when you find out it's not worked after we're done talking," he adds, snidely, knowing exactly what I was thinking. If I catch up with him, I'm going to wring his scrawny salarian neck…though I imagine I'll have to join the queue behind Garrus for that.

"Look, Saleon, let's cut the crap. I'm not easily intimidated, and you're probably busy flouting galactic law, so maybe you should just say what it is you want from me, or I'm just going to hang up." I say the words, trying to keep my voice as level as possible despite the fact I'm actually freaking out quite a lot. It can't be good news if someone I know is a mass murderer and general psychopath is calling me up in the night, but I'm not giving him the satisfaction of playing me however he wants.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, detective. Believe me, you'll want to hear me out." My finger hovers over the disconnect button, but I slowly draw it back. I can't say I'm not curious to hear what he has to say…

"You stole information from me, Ian. Information that's worth more than your life to me." Oh, here we go with the threats…score one for originality on his part.

"Well, you already tried to kill me and my partner, and it didn't work," I shoot back. "So I assume this is you trying a different tack. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say you were getting a little desperate, calling the officer in charge of the investigation into your laboratory." I counter, well aware that this isn't just a conversation, it's a battle of wits. And he's not gaining the upper hand.

Saleon laughs mockingly down the line at my words. "Well, you and your turian friend certainly are more tenacious than I expected. It seems I underestimated you, and I am indeed trying a different tactic. But getting desperate?" He laughs again, a loud, loathsome sound that makes me flinch as it comes through into my ear. "The opening moves of this game have only just been played, and I'm already holding all the cards!"

"Hardly!" I scoff. Arrogant bastard… "You've got C-Sec closing in on you, whether you like it or not. You should just turn yourself in, maybe they'll be more lenient with your sentence that way."

"We both know that isn't going to happen, Detective."

"Well, it was worth a shot." I mutter, trying my best to infuriate Saleon. If he gets angry, he might start making mistakes…which is exactly what I need.

"You survived the building explosion, which was impressive," he continues, not rising to the bait. "I must say, Ian, you're annoyingly hard to kill."

"Did you just call me to point out the obvious?" I reply irritably. I appreciate the need for melodramatic evil villainy…but there's a line, and he's crossing it. "I'm still more than prepared to disconnect this call and save myself the headache of listening to you."

"Like a troublesome insect, always out of my reach." He just keeps talking like I don't exist! Better add massive ego to his list of personality defects as well…though we both know I'm not going to hang up now. "So I'm calling to make a proposition for you, Ian. A mutually beneficial one, for the both of us." Huh? I was expecting death threats and gunfire, not whatever Saleon sees as a 'proposition.' Still, better hear the bastard out…

"Mutually beneficial idea from a criminal?" I reply, overdoing the incredulity in my voice slightly for the doctor's benefit. "That's a new one!"

"If I can't kill you, then I'll have to buy you," Saleon says boldly. Bribery? Holy crap, the man is such a cliché!

"Buy me? I'm not your whore, Saleon, whether you'd like me to be or not." Ooh, let's see how he likes that one…

"Then I phrased it wrong," he hisses back. Oh, looks like that one stung! "The only thing I'm buying is your silence and keeping this investigation away from me."

"Is this some kind of joke? You're trying to bribe a C-Sec officer, I could arrest you for this!"

"Nice try, Ian," Saleon replies smugly, "but if they didn't believe you about my alleged assassination attempt, they won't believe you about this either. So give your incessant interruptions a break, and let me finish!" He says the last bit with surprising force, shutting me up long enough for him to continue.

"I'm offering you two hundred thousand credits in exchange for my immunity, detective. How about it?" Holy crap, that's a lot of creds, especially for someone on C-Sec wages…that's more than I'd earn in a decade of C-Sec work! I never realised that Saleon was so rich, looks like the organ market pays better than I expected. Garrus's voice saying '_80,000 for the full set,' _about krogan testicles keeps running around my head as I think that…okay, maybe it's not too much of a surprise, after all. Still, like fuck am I going to take a bribe from Saleon! Even if it wasn't a matter of principle, I'll hardly need the money if I'm on the Normandy with Shepard and the crew…so that solves that dilemma completely!

"How about it? How about you fuck off!" I spit back down the mic, scorn more than obvious in my voice. "You're criminal scum, Saleon, and you're going down."

"You'll regret this!" he starts to shout. Wow, he actually expected me to say yes to the money…I'm actually a little insulted! "I'm trying to be nice here, but I'll make you pay for this!"

"Yeah, good luck with that," I reply, nonchalantly, knowing fine well I've won the verbal sparring match. "Money can't buy you everything, doctor. Something to reflect on in the jail cell."

He starts to scream something back, but I casually reach over to the disconnect button and press my finger down, cutting him off mid-rant. That felt far too good doing that…I don't care what he says, he's desperate, alright. In a way, that's good because it shows that we're closing in on him…but it also means he getting closer to cutting his losses and running. I check back on the omni-tool and play back the phone recording. True to Saleon's word, it's just a load of static. Damn, that would have been too easy, wouldn't it? I head off again towards the apartment, eyes peeled for any kind of ambush. Saleon said he was past killing me, but for some reason I don't think I believe him on that one.

#########

I head through the apartment door about five minutes later, thankfully without having to fight off a crack ninja squad sent by Saleon or anything dramatic like that. Got spooked out a few times by the sound of the Citadel nightlife combined with my paranoid instinct, but at least I made it back in one piece. Rebecca looks over from her position reclined on the sofa at the door as I walk in, television on that drama she's addicted to, glass of wine in hand.

"Ah, the prodigal husband returns!" she exclaims as I walk in, smiling a little bit. Hah, she's clearly a little bit tipsy…that's what we get for buying in heavier asari alcohol.

"Yeah, I'm home." I dump my jacket on the hanger next to the front door, then jog over to the couch Rebecca's on and flop down next to her on it, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "Christ, what a day I've had." I sigh deeply, as she snuggles into my arm.

"I heard about the building fire," she says, sounding a little concerned. "They called me to say you were okay…you are okay, right?" Her hands stray close to the plasters and bandages on mind, covering up the cuts from the glass.

"Don't worry about it, I've seen worse." I lift up one side of my shirt to show the scar from the bullet I took all those months back. Doctors have told me it'll be naturally permanent. I can get it removed if I want, but I think it looks kind of badass, and Rebecca says it's kind of sexy…so the scar stays. "It takes more than explosions and fire to kill me."

She giggles, then starts picking at my bandages absentmindedly. "They've done a shoddy job with these," she tutts mockingly. "I would have patched you up much better than this if I'd been there. These are just falling apart…" I consider telling Rebecca about Saleon's phone call, but it's best not to worry her. She'll already have been stressing out today over the fire, don't want to add anything else to her already long list of worries about me…

"The medic they sent was a right asshole," I complain, as one of the bandages shifts and nips my hand, causing me to wince at the sudden pain shock. "Didn't talk, just glared at me for getting injured in the first place. He should be thanking me and Garrus, considering we're keeping most of the medical department in a job these days!"

Rebecca tries to frown disapprovingly, but just ends up laughing instead. The fact she's a little bit drunk probably helped with that… "I think I know who that was," Rebecca muses. "Quite tall, brown hair?"

I cast my mind back to the scene… "Yeah, that sounds about right."

She snaps her fingers together as she works out who it is. "Keith Davies. New hire a few months ago, thinks everyone in the med department should be bowing down and kissing his feet. Came from some fancy medical college out near Illium, one of the only few humans to graduate from it, but it doesn't give him a reason to think the sun shines out of his arse…"

Wow, Rebecca really is a little bit pissed, normally she wouldn't let her mouth run off like that. I raise an eyebrow at her little outburst, and she smiles as she picks up on what I'm thinking.

"What? I'm allowed to vent too, you know. I wasn't hatched!" She punches me lightly on the arm in jest, then settles back down and buries her head into my arm.

"You have a good day without me?" I ask, smiling down at her. "Was there enough crap television dramas to last you?"

She gives a little cry in protest as she rolls over and stares up into my face. "It's not crap, it's emotionally deep! You men never seem to understand that."

"Playing the sexism card?" I clutch at my chest like her words have wounded me. "That's low, Rebecca."

"Oh, shut up." She closes her eyes, face still facing up towards mine. "You know it's true." Rebecca yawns out wide, stretching her arms out a little bit and arching her back against my chest.

"Come on," I say, gently grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up with me as I heave myself into a standing position off the sofa. "We're both exhausted. I need some sleep."

"No!" she protests, weakly. "I'm missing the end of the show!" But her eyes are drooping, and she's not exactly struggling to break free back to the sofa. I reach over and turn the television off, then head off towards the bedroom with Rebecca's arm slung around my shoulder as we walk.

"You can watch it tomorrow," I remind her. Lucky girl gets a two day break while some of us are out getting blown up… "Right now, what you need is some sleep." I push open the door to the room, and Rebecca staggers two steps forwards before flopping onto the bed and crawling up and under the covers. I head into the bed as well, in a slightly more dignified manner, as Rebecca slides up next to me.

"I love you, Ian," she mutters drowsily, leaning in for a kiss.

"Love you to, babe," I reply, giving her a peck on the lips as she falls onto her back and closes her eyes, drifting into an alcohol fuelled sleep. Chuckling silently to myself, I lean over to switch off the light, and then roll back in the dark, staring up at the roof.

Tomorrow, we start to end this. We've got Saleon worried, on the edge, and when we question his employees it's going to start of a chain of events I'm not even sure I control. One last roll of the dice, where we win it all, or lose it all.

Something tells me it's gonna be a long day.

**A/N: I know, super quick update. The story's so close to the end now, I'm just driving through the chapters as fast as I can. Can't promise I'll be this quick for the next few, though God knows I'll try.**

**So yeah, corruption isn't fun. Stuck it to Saleon there, but will he get back at Ian? Will we be able to stop him in time? Two chapters of this investigation left…stay tuned to find out! (Corny lines for the loss.)**

**And obviously, it goes without saying, thanks to everyone who's reviewed and made the last few chapter the most popular yet…it feels like no time at all since I was celebrating 200 reviews, and now we're knocking on 300! Thanks to you all so much, and of course big thanks to everyone who reads, subscribes and favourites as well.**

**Alright, I'm outro! Until next time… **


	32. Ian vs The Doctor's Secret

Chapter 32

More visions, the Reaper's roar whirling around my head again, the images of unspeakable pain and destruction projected into my mind with unforgiving clarity. The Collectors, those DNA strands whirling hypnotically…before the chaos rips me out my trance as the Reaper screams at the weapon being fired into the sky, the scene shifts, another human falls to the ground and the scream of pain from the Reaper changes to one of triumph…

I shoot up in the bed, clutching at the scar on my chest and hyperventilating, Rebecca looking over me with worry written all across her face.

"Just breathe, Ian, you're having another nightmare," she says soothingly, though the concern in her voice is obvious. I slowly relax as my breathing rate drops back to normal, and the pain in the scar goes back down to a low ache. I slump back onto my pillow and sigh, and Rebecca rolls over to look at me.

"I'm still worried about your dreams," she admits, yawning a little bit as she talks. "You were thrashing about again, you know, had your mouth open in that silent scream you always do…" Damn, while the visions flare up a lot less than they used to, Rebecca knows it's a problem for me, something she agreed to take on when we moved in together. I just say it's built-up stress, but she knows it goes a lot deeper than that…I'm just glad Rebecca doesn't try ask me about it.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't hit you, did I?" I rub my forehead with my hand, feeling the sweat. I swear they're getting more intense the more of them I have, which is both exciting and a little bit scary. Maybe the increased intensity means I'm getting closer to the answers, or maybe I'm just getting progressively more crazy?

"No," she chuckles softly. "Freaked me out a bit though. It's always a shock when you have them at first." I can imagine...I'd honestly hate to wake up to _her _thrashing about in the bed like I do, so I am genuinely sorry she has to deal with them without knowing what they're really about. Greater good, just keep telling myself that…

"Well, I've had a lot of stress recently," I mutter, closing my eyes but knowing damn well I'm not getting any more sleep tonight. Which reminds me… "What time is it?" I ask, opening my eyes and rolling over, sticking my hand out to the bedside drawer and flailing around blindly for my omni-tool.

"I still think you should look into that asari mind therapy," Rebecca says, ignoring my question. "People say it really works, helps calm them down, deal with things like recurring nightmares and stuff." She's been pushing this asari therapy stuff to me as soon as she found out the 'nightmares' were a regular occurrence after I moved in with her…and I've been pushing it back ever since. I mean, look at the last asari who mind melded with me! I won't be the one needing therapy after they've looked into my mind! Though obviously I can't tell Rebecca that…

"You know that mind melding stuff freaks me out," I half lie, as my hand makes contact with omni-tool. About time! I switch it on, the orange light temporarily dazzling my night-vision and causing me to squint. Let's see…the clock says it's quarter past six in the morning. Wow, that's actually not too bad, considering I need to be into C-Sec for seven am…wow, the vision was actually slightly helpful today, rather than completely annoying! I sit up and clumsily roll out my bed, clutching at my lightly aching legs. Christ, running through burning buildings and diving out of windows really takes it out of you in the morning…my legs are pretty fucking stiff. I walk around the room to try and loosen them out, while Rebecca looks on with a mixture of disappointment and amusement on her face.

"You're going already?" she asks, frowning a little bit as she rubs at her bleary eyes.

"Yep." I grab my jacket and gun, making sure I've got everything I need…something tells me this is definitely the wrong day to be underprepared for. "Duty calls, I'm afraid. Garrus and I have got an absolute ton of people to question today." And an insane salarian to catch…again, can't tell her that!

"You should have been a med officer," she teases, sprawling out onto the bed. "You get all these days off, better working conditions, less forced overtime…"

"Someone has to get shot at and injured to keep you in a job, right?" She giggles a little bit as I walk to the door, and stops just before I go out.

"What are you doing today, then?" I ask, hand already on the doorknob. "More bad drama and wine?"

"Not more wine," she moans, clutching at her head. "We're never buying that stuff again, alright?" I laugh, remembering her last night…I'll take the piss when she's not so hungover and prone to being moody. "I was thinking of going into the Citadel today," she continues, smiling a little bit. "Going shopping for you, actually."

A present? For me? It was my birthday a little while ago now… "What's the occasion?"

"Something special," she grins. "But I'm not telling you. You'll find out tonight, alright?" A mystery present for a special occasion I don't know about…yeah, even my finely honed detective skills can't break through that one.

"Alright," I reply, holding my hands up in mock surrender. "Surprise me when I get home, okay?"

Rebecca nods, still laughing away to herself. Sometimes I don't understand what's going on in her head, I swear…though I imagine the feeling's mutual. I head through the door, turning around a giving Rebecca a little wave which she returns as I close it again. I really wish I could have a lie in today…but with the stakes as high as they are, that's not really an option. I head down into the kitchen, rooting through the cupboards and trying to replace all the worries I've got about the day ahead with worries about what to eat for breakfast, instead.

#########

Alas, the breakfast distraction plan failed to be as effective as I'd hoped, not to my great surprise. I rolled into C-Sec ten minutes early, chewing on some toast and still stressing out. Garrus is already standing in the lobby as I arrive, tapping his foot a little impatiently. From the expression on his face I can tell he's not in the greatest mood this morning…normally that would have me a little apprehensive, at the least, but today a bad mood is exactly what we need. Someone's going to have to make one of the employees/test subjects bleed, and I'd rather it wasn't me…though hopefully I won't have to watch Garrus give said employee more beatings than Omaha Beach before ground assault before he bleeds.

"Morning, perky," I say as I walk up to him. Garrus is not amused.

"Morning," he replies, gruffly. Yeah, definitely not in a good mood, considering I can read him pretty well after spending almost two years with the guy.

"So…the questioning still on?" I ask, trying to make conversation. He nods, spinning on his heel and heading off towards the Investigation department as I follow behind.

"Yeah," he says back, turning his head to look at me. "Pallin's got officers rounding the employees up as we speak."

"Then why are you in such a bad mood?"

He stops walking and swivels all the way around to face me, full seven foot tall turian standing over me. Shit, I really need to try and be more subtle with my questions sometimes…he stands there, looking ready to burst with anger, before finally taking a deep breath and relaxing a little.

"Sorry," he says, a little regretfully. "I'm just pissed off about Pallin delaying it until now. I've got a bad feeling about this, Ian. The more time we give Saleon, the more risky this whole investigation gets."

"Tell me about it," I reply, glad he's not pissed off at me but worrying even more after he mentions Saleon. The sooner we can get these 'interviews' done, the better… "I'm not feeling too good about this myself. We got an interview room ready?"

"Yep." We both go through the double doors into Investigation at the same time, though I'm far too busy stressing out to reflect on how good it looked. "It's all set up for us now." We walk along to the interrogation rooms, standing outside the only one with a green light projected onto it as Garrus knocks on the door. It opens a second later, one human technician stands at the door to check who we are while I can see another one in the background, fiddling with some recording equipment.

"Nice digs," I say, a little bit too sarcastically, admiring the whitewashed room we can see from the one-way mirror. "Looks pretty cosy." Garrus laughs a little bit as both the technicians frown before getting back to their work. "I assume you're taking the interrogations, then?" I ask, turning round to look at the turian.

"That's the plan," he nods. "Unless you've got any problems with that?" On a normal day, with Garrus in this kind of mood, I probably would…but today doesn't qualify as normal, not by a long shot.

"No," I reply brightly, rubbing my hands together. "Let's get to it."

#############

The first few interviewees turned up about five minutes after Garrus and I both got settled into our respective positions, me standing looking and listening through the glass, microphone attached to give suggestions to Garrus about lines of questioning, or maybe just telling him to back off if things get too crazy. Garrus paced around the interview room as the employees were prepared for questioning, scowl permanently stuck on his face. I almost felt sorry for the people facing his wrath…almost. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, I suppose, though I wish that wasn't the case…

Once the interviews did start, it went pretty slow to begin with. I was hardly expecting Garrus to smash the first guy's face in as soon as he walked through the door, but I had my fingers crossed. No such luck. To his credit, Garrus took the whole thing pretty calmly, asked a few questions, tried turning the screws when it was necessary…but we didn't get much out of the first guy. Nothing incriminating. Same with the second. Same with the third. As the day progressed, the minutes of questioning turning into hours, I started feeling gradually more and more impatient as the thought of Saleon getting away ate away at my brain. He could be preparing to leave at any moment, getting his ship ready as the interviews dragged on and on…Garrus is getting progressively more and more angry as well, each interview becoming a little more aggressive, bringing him closer to his breaking point. The question is, are we too late?

It takes nine suspects, just over five hours and a lot of coffee for Garrus to finally lose his cool as the clock just goes past midday. He's asking one particularly cheeky human male the same questions he's been going through all day, but the guy keeps fobbing him off and answering back. It was only a matter of time…and finally, Garrus's temper snaps.

"What?" he whispers menacingly into the suspect's ear. Oh God, here we go…this is usually a pretty tell-tale sign of Renegarrus shining through…

"I told you, _turian,_" the human replies, putting a scornful emphasis on 'turian', "I don't know anything about this illegal organ trade. So get out of my face!" Garrus leans back a bit…then snaps forward, ramming his forehead into the guy's face and causing him to fall off his chair with a yell of pain. Holy shit, that's the Harkin special he does in Mass Effect 2 if you do the Paragon interrupt…that's got to hurt. Doing my best to act surprised, I rush out of the monitoring room and into the interrogation suite as Garrus stands over the guy rolling around clutching at his face.

"That was me getting into your face!" the turian growls, as blood seeps through the suspect's fingers. Alright, that's what I was looking for…

"Garrus!" I say, trying to sound as angry as I can. "Go and cool off!" He mutters something, but storms out without too much complaint. I give the guy on the floor a hand up, letting him use my shoulders as a support as we head off towards the medical department. When Raif Armstrong finds out about this guy, he's going to have a fit, I swear to God…

############

"What the…how is that possible?" Raif exclaims, staring at the results emblazoned across the omni-tool screen. It didn't take long for the medics to realise something was wrong when I dragged the suspect, Liam Jequida, into their department for treatment. When the bleeding from his nose and from the small cuts on his face from Garrus's plates didn't stop after fifteen minutes, they suddenly took a lot of notice. A body examination later, despite Liam's protest, showed exactly what I wanted. Liam's body was covered with fresh incisions, and the medics demanded to make further test on him. One hour later, one precious hour lost, and Garrus and I are standing here with Raif examining the results from said tests.

"What?" Garrus asks, impatiently. "How is what possible?"

"I don't believe it…" Raif says, sounding a little faint. "It shouldn't be possible, but the results don't lie…"

"What?" Garrus and I both shout at the same time, snapping him out of his daze.

"His employer, Saleon…" Raif takes a deep breath, then continues, face grim. "It looks like the good doctor's been using his employees as living test tubes." Garrus gasps in horror, I do the same a second later when I realise how shocking that news should be to someone who didn't know about it already.

"What do you mean, test tubes?" Garrus finally says, disgust in his voice obvious. "What's he done?"

"It looks like he's been cloning their organs, growing them inside their own bodies, then removing and selling them…I don't understand the science involved, but that's the only explanation I can think of," Raif admits, holding a hand to his head as he stares at the results again, looking like he could be physically sick. As much as I'd like to give Garrus time to let this all sink in…we need to act now.

"Garrus," I say urgently, looking him in the eyes. "This is what we need to bring Saleon in. This is it!" The turian's eyes widen as the sudden realisation of how big this is hits him, then the triumph on his face suddenly changes to worry.

"This entire time we've been doing these interviews…shit, what if he works out we're going to find out? What if he's already escaping?" We both stand there for a second, the urgency of the situation hitting home for both of us…then we make a synchronised break for the cruiser, leaving Raif Anderson standing there with a look of confusion, shock and disgust at the data spread before him.

#########

Garrus pushes the cruiser to its limit as we hurtle through the sky, narrowly avoiding several collisions as we speed towards the lab. Neither of us dares talk on the way there, the tense situation making words impossible. It only takes five minutes of nail-biting aerial manoeuvres and close brushes with death for us to arrive at Saleon's lab, and I'm practically out of the cruiser before it's even touched down, jumping out the door and dashing into the building with Garrus hot on my heels. The secretary's chair lies empty…that's not a good sign, she wasn't on the employee list for interrogation…

Thankfully, there's pass on the desk, apparently 'Level 1 clearance', which should get us to Saleon's office without having to hack…wordlessly, Garrus and I dash over to it, I insert that card and bash the button for the top floor with my elbow, doors sliding shut as the elevator starts to head upwards. I draw my pistol as it rises, checking the sights and making sure the cooling system is active, Garrus does the same. There's no time for wisecracks, one-liners, even conversation…the stakes are too high now. Painstakingly slowly, the number on the lift's wall changes from a six to seven, signalling our arrival on the top floor. I take a deep breath.

"Ready?" Garrus whispers to me.

"As much as I'll ever be." The lift doors open and Garrus and I rush out, pistols aimed out in front of us, quickly scanning the room for any hostiles. It's empty. The projection is gone, replaced with the whitewashed floor and walls, as is Saleon's computer. Only the lonely desk remains, sitting there, mocking us.

"Damn it!" Garrus shouts. "He got away!" I stagger over to the wall, put my back against it and my head in my hands. No, this wasn't supposed to happen…we were going to stop him! We solved all the clues, got the evidence, how could he have escaped!

"_Detectives," _a voice crackles through our radios. I can already guess what this is going to be about…though if Saleon's going to a spaceport to escape, maybe we can try and cut him off! But shit, what about the hostages he has from his employees… "_I've got some news about Saleon."_

"Roger that," Garrus says, putting a talon up to his ear, anger in his voice still obvious. "What've you got for us?"

"_He's been spotted by patrol cars heading towards a spaceport near Tayseri Ward, sir." _Tayseri Ward...I bet that's Saleon's sick idea of a joke…

"Then cut him off!" Garrus shouts. "Don't waste time calling us and arrest him!"

"_It's not that easy, sir," _the voice says, sounding a little nervous now. "_He's got hostages." _I knew it… "_They've been identified as the employees who aren't in C-Sec being questioned." _Bugger! Maybe we can still… "_There's someone else too, detectives," _he says, voice starting to shake a bit now. Someone else? No, that can't be right...Saleon only took hostages of his employees in the game!

"Who else?" Garrus demands.

"_She's one of us, sir. She's C-Sec." _Saleon captured a cop? Wait, a female C-Sec officer?

Oh God. Oh God, please, no…

"What's her name?" Garrus asks, oblivious to the conclusion I've jumped to. No, it can't be her, that can't happen…

"_Her name's Rebecca," _comes the nervous reply over the radio. "_Rebecca Simmons."_

**A/N: I'm not saying much. Next chapter will be the end of the Saleon investigation, that's all. This chapter felt weird writing...sorry if it felt weird reading as well :-P**

**Thanks to everyone who's read, favourited and reviewed, as usual…**

**See you next chapter.**


	33. Ian vs The Ring

Chapter 33

**A/N: As should quickly become obvious…I'm not particularly great at writing emotional scenes. So, if this seems a bit rough around the edges, I apologise in advance.**

The sound drains out of the room as the words hit my ear, echoing around in my head.

'_Rebecca. Rebecca Simmons.'_

"No. No, no, no…" I barely feel my back hitting the wall as I stagger back in shock, sliding down the wall, hearing nothing but those loathsome words.

'_They've got one of us…she's C-Sec.'_

My mind is torn, half of it striking out, rejecting the news, certain the cop has to be wrong…but the other half sees the truth. Saleon said he'd make me pay, and if you can't go for someone's head through money…

You go for the heart.

'_Rebecca. Rebecca Simmons.' _The voice says, taunting me, as I put my head in my hands and feel like I could be sick. This can't be right, this has to be some kind of twisted dream, I'm going to wake up next to her, the woman I love…

'_Ian.' _Now it sounds like she's saying my voice, Jesus, I'm going insane as well…

'_Ian! _IAN!' Rebecca's voice doesn't flange…I look up to see Garrus standing over me, looking down at me urgently.

"We can still catch him!" he shouts. "Just because he's got Rebecca doesn't mean we can't get her back!" I try to push him away, my grief overcoming my better judgement…this was all meant to happen, no matter what I did. Saleon was supposed to escape in the game, and what could one washed up student from 2010 do about that…

"It's too late," I mutter, almost to myself. "She's gone, he's escaped. It's over."

With a sudden burst of strength, Garrus drags me to my feet, and places his face up against mine. "Don't you fucking dare say that!" he snaps. "We're not giving up on Rebecca! I'm going after them, and if you want to sit here feeling sorry for yourself, be my fucking guest! But if you want to save her, you'd better pull yourself together and get up!"

He's right…I feel a new resolve grow inside me. I've had Shiara telling me about fate this whole time, how some things are just meant to happen…

Well you know what? Fuck that. I write my own fate.

"Alright," I finally bring myself to say, looking up at my partner, eyes still smouldering but determination written across his face. Neither of us needs to say anything else. We both run back towards the elevator, I check my pistol again as we run. I've got a shot in there with Saleon's name on it.

I'm coming, Rebecca. Just hold on.

#########

Garrus takes the cruiser around a corner at a speed that shouldn't even be possible, narrowly avoiding another car at the junction we've cut across as I catch a quick glimpse of the pissed off looking turian driver we almost hit. Normally, I'd be apologetic, or at least make a small joke about it to Garrus. This isn't the time. I'm holding my pistol, mainly for comfort more than anything else, but when I look down at the hand grasping it the knuckles have gone pale from how hard I'm clutching the handle of the damn thing in my stress. How could I be stupid enough to leave Rebecca alone today, of all days, when I knew Saleon was going to be out for revenge and probably going to try making his escape…

"This is my fault," I mutter as we hit a straight, relatively safe stretch of space. "I shouldn't have left her at home like that…"

"Don't blame yourself," Garrus says, quietly. "You weren't to know Saleon was going to try escaping today, and it's not your fault he's a bloody psychopath." Garrus keep his eyes on the road, expression rock hard and focused. "We'll get him."

I know Garrus is trying to comfort me, but his words almost make it worse. I did know Saleon was going to try escaping…and I didn't stop it. If I told Rebecca about what was going to happen this morning, maybe this wouldn't have happened, but I would have blown my cover! Garrus seem confident we'll catch him, I wish I was as well.

Suddenly, I'm starting to ask myself more and more if all this 'maintaining my secret identity' stuff is still worth fighting for…

We close in on Tayseri Ward quickly, Garrus expertly navigating the shortcuts of the Citadel's airways. This is it, the final showdown, and more at stake than ever before. A sudden crackle of static comes through my earpiece, knocking me off my brooding and focusing my full attention back onto the situation at hand. I need to leave my emotions aside, now. One slip in judgement, one drop of attention and this could all go to hell.

"_C-Sec cruiser," _the disembodied, turian sounding voice says into my ear (and Garrus's, from the way he's suddenly shot upright in his seat,) "_This area is currently under lockdown. Please confirm your identities for clearance."_

"Detective Ian ****** and Detective Garrus Vakarian," he says, calmly, bringing the cruiser in to land without waiting for the guy to confirm permission to land. I'm briefly reminded of the song 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love' when I think that, but shake it from my head, especially since the title seems to be far too poignant for the situation ahead…

"_Roger that, detectives, you're cleared to land." _The cruiser's practically on the ground by the time the message comes through, making the whole point of it somewhat moot, as Garrus and I hop out our respective sides of the cruiser when it touches down. My pistol's already drawn as I sprint towards the docking bay Saleon's at, Garrus following close behind. It's about two hundred metres to Saleon's location…I only feel two things as I run, numbing everything else out. tiredness and the ache in my legs gone and forgotten.

Love for Rebecca, and fear for what happens if I'm already too late.

#########

I stumble into the police line set up about twenty odd seconds later, almost running into a human at the back of the steadily growing crowd of spectators. It doesn't stop me for long though, as I start frantically pushing through the crowd, shouting wildly to get people to move.

"C-Sec!" I yell. "Move aside!" A stubborn turian refuses to move, so I grab him by the arm and spin him out of the way.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" The bastard shouts, trying to grab me back. I spin around, giving him a two handed shove that sends him sprawling to the floor.

"You got a problem?" I scream at him. "I'm doing my job! This is a hostage situation, not a fucking spectator sport!" The crowd parts voluntarily after that, leaving me a clear path to the officer in charge of keeping the situation outside of the hostage area under control. I hear Garrus jogging up behind me, but I don't have time to wait for him…

"Who the hell are…" I flash my C-Sec badge at the officer, and I assume Garrus does the same too because he immediately jumps to attention.

"Bring us up to speed," Garrus snaps. "What do we need to know?"

The officer seems a little bit surprised at how direct the turian's being, but he shakes it off pretty well. "Dr. Saleon's in the spaceport around that corner, there." I follow his pointing finger, and see a few armed officers standing by that corner, pointing their weapons at someone. Presumably Saleon, but they're not going to shoot with hostages.

"We've got snipers positioned on surrounding rooftops, but this guy's good. He's worked this out so we can't get anyone behind him, and even if we did get a clear shot he's wearing heavy kinetic barriers, so it's going to take more than one shot to bring him down anyway."

"Why hasn't he gone onto his ship yet?" Garrus acts suspiciously. "What's he waiting for?"

The officer scratches the back of his head nervously. "He said he was waiting for one officer to show up. A Detective Carmichael or something, but there's no-one called that on the force…" I'm already barging past the guy and heading around the corner just after he says 'Detective Carmichael', Garrus following close behind after muttering an apology to the officer. Saleon's fucking warped sense of humour…I'm going to kill that bastard!

I head around the corner into the spaceport, and that's when the full gravity of the situation hits me.

Saleon is standing just in front of his ship, the loading ramp already lowered from him to climb aboard when he wishes. There's a group of about five or six of what I assume are his employees already standing on the ship…and it looks like they're wired up to explosives. There's almost twenty officers on the ground pointing guns at him, and more probably on the surrounding rooftops…but I know they're not going to shoot. Because I see the worst thing of all.

Saleon's got Rebecca grabbed around the neck, restraints on her hands, and is pointing a handgun squarely at her temple.

"Rebecca!" I yell, dashing forward with my gun drawn and aiming at Saleon's head, all notions of caution forgotten. "I'm here!"

I make it about five metres before Saleon clears his throat and brandishes the gun. "Ian!" He shouts, the scorn dripping from the fake joy in his voice. "So glad you could join us!"

"Are you alright? Rebecca?" I keep asking, ignoring Saleon's jibes for now.

"I'm fine!" she shouts back, though her voice implies the complete opposite. "Shoot him, Ian, he's cra…"

Saleon pushes the gun against her head again, making her wince with pain and me back off a step or two.

"I wouldn't do that, detective. My kinetic barriers give me more than enough time to make it onto my ship, and what if you hit your pretty girlfriend here?"

"Let her go, you sick fuck!" I keep the pistol pointed on his head, breathing heavily in anger and shaking slightly with adrenaline and fear.

"You're in no position to be making demands," he shoots back arrogantly. "I only waited for you anyway, Ian, because I wanted to show what I've accomplished." He waves his free arm around at the scene around us. "I've won, Ian! You, with all your talk of bringing me down, turning down my generous officer, and here we are." He gives a fake sigh. "I didn't want it to end like this, really. If you'd just said yes to me before, this would never have happened, would it?"

"You'll never win!" I scream back, almost completely losing myself to the rage starting to consume me. "This isn't over."

"I beg to differ," the doctor snarls. "That's exactly what this is. Over." In my right ear, I can hear the C-Sec fire teams talking away.

'_Alpha One, do you have a shot?'_

'_Negative.'_

'_Alpha Two?'_

'_Negative as well, sir.'_

I square up the sights. If someone's going to have to do this, it's down to me. Three shots with pinpoint accuracy…can I really do that? What if I hit Rebecca? What if Saleon just shoots her instead?

"I've got one more thing before I leave though," Saleon shouts at me, taking my mind of my calculations. "Your girlfriend was buying something for you when I found her, and I thought you'd want to see it before she left." He's holding a small black box in his left hand…and with an underarm throw, he sends it sailing towards me, box open, its contents glinting in the light. Glinting? What the hell…

I catch it, and stare down at the contents. One diamond ring stares back at me, band of silver attached to the bottom of it catching my reflection. A ring…she was buying a ring! I look back up, and see Saleon's already taken a few steps back towards the ship, one foot resting on the ramp.

"Isn't that beautiful," he mocks. "You humans and your romance. Well, detective, that's all for me." He starts retreating even faster now, stepping further and further up the ramp. "I guess this is goodbye."

I barely hear him, lining up the handgun sights at his head and opening fire straight away. The shot flies wide, colliding with another part of the ramp and causing Saleon to flinch and scuttle into the ship's docking bay, but he's laughing manically as he goes.

"REBECCA!" I scream, still firing at the madly cackling salarian. "NO!" The shots just bounce away, as the ramp starts to close. I sprint towards it, to try and grab on, but the ship's already moving away too fast!

"IAN!" I hear Rebecca shout, seeing her face, eyes open with panic and tears glistening on her cheek as Saleon laughs away…then the ramp closes, and she's gone.

"NO!" I keep firing, sprinting after the ship, all semblance of sanity gone. "NO! REBECCA!" The ship speeds away into the distance, with Rebecca on it…I keep pulling the trigger, pistol already overheated, and slowly sink to my knees, the tears starting to form in my vision. No, this can't be happening, it's all just a dream…

I hear Garrus starting to shout for the ship to be shot down, but it all passes by me in a blur. She's gone, for ever, she's gone…this is my fault. I should have told her about Saleon, about everything...I scream out in pain, rolling over onto my back and staring up into the stars, pain and grief overwhelming all my other senses.

I place my head in my hands and start sobbing, the empty feeling coursing through my body, as I lie there and cry my heart out, the diamond ring twinkling in the light next to me.

**A/N: The Saleon investigation ends. And the final epilogue chapters begin.**

**Next chapter is going to be a little bit angsty after all that...but that's not really in my nature, so don't worry about it too much. I'm not going all emo over the whole thing, hopefully. One chapter only, Ian isn't going to be all dead and emotional for the rest of the fic, don't panic.**

**We have two chapters left. Once again, thanks to everyone for reviewing and reading, keep it up…**

**And see you next chapter.**


	34. Ian vs The Epilogue

Chapter 34

**A/N: Quick explanation. I'd initially expected that I'd split the epilogue into two chapters, the first one being about Ian dealing with Rebecca's death. However, after I read it through, I thought to myself, 'you know what, this is crap.' There was a lot of angst, shutting people out, it read like a fucking Twilight book. So, that was subsequently scrapped, and I started fresh with the one, larger epilogue. **

**(Also, I know that Garrus's real family history and stuff is different to what I wrote for him thanks to Lair of the Shadow Broker, but in the interest of continuity I'm keeping it the same as I wrote it. It's a minor thing, so don't panic.)**

**One more thing, I know that it takes Shepard fifteen hours to wake up after Eden Prime is dealt with. But from a plot point of view on my part, that's a massive pain to write in. So she's going to turn up early. If that's an issue for you, I'm sorry. Sorry you're so pedantic.**

**So now, this is the final chapter. It's been a crazy ride…something I'll go into further during the final A/N.**

**And all the angst will be dealt with in this handy recap section…enjoy!**

For almost ten minutes I'd lain there, thinking of nothing but Rebecca as Saleon's ship disappeared into the distance and chaos erupted in the spaceport around me. Officers running across the place, Garrus yelling for someone to shoot it down then going crazy down the line when his request got denied, but none of it mattered to me. She was gone. At the time, there was nothing else. I had the knowledge that should have protected her, I had the means to keep her safe, and yet still I'd failed because she couldn't know the truth. That knowledge had left me feeling empty as I lay there, tears still on the edge of my vision, as everything else in the world just passed by me. Garrus came over, trying to comfort me, saying C-Sec would get Saleon before he got away…he may as well have been talking to a brick wall. I knew Saleon wasn't coming back, that his escape was guaranteed. Garrus had picked me up, taken me back to the police line for med staff to try and treat me for shock or something, but I barely felt myself being lifted along, too embroiled in my own thoughts and grief. It almost felt like an out of body experience, I knew what was happening without feeling any of it, the sudden loss numbing it all out.

Seeing the med staff had reminded me of Rebecca when they finally got me sat down, bringing on a fresh load of tears while everyone else just looked on helplessly. They all tried to help, towels around my shoulders, comforting words about how we'd get Rebecca back…it meant nothing to me. I'd retreated into my shell after she disappeared, and nothing they did was going to bring me out. Garrus tried his best too, kept by me the whole time, stopped too many people trying to talk to me when I clearly didn't want them there, but even he couldn't do much then.

With Rebecca gone, a little part of me had gone with her as well. I ended up moving back in Garrus, much to my relief in hindsight. There was no way I was going back to Rebecca's apartment, living alone would have been absolutely terrible for me, so Garrus was more than happy to take me back in. He helped move everything over, get me settled back in…but it wasn't the same as old times. No wisecracks, going out for drinks, that sort of thing. Instead, I made myself a routine and I stuck to it, losing myself in that instead of grief over Rebecca. Garrus and I rarely spoke in the house, and when we did it was more out of courtesy than anything, brief conversation with a lot of words that said very little.

Pallin arranged for me to have some time off work after the incident, of course. I was given a month, I took about a week. Sitting at home didn't help me, just gave me more time to grieve. So I got back as soon as I could, and threw myself into work. With Saleon gone, everything had petered out in the organ market…but there was still illegal trading, and I still had cases to deal with. Not that I cared particularly, instead seeing it as a way to keep my mind off the thoughts that emerged in the spare moments when nothing was going on. Everything was robotic, Garrus and I would follow up some leads, make some arrests, that was it. In interrogations, I started becoming almost as vicious as Garrus, actually hitting one particularly stubborn suspect, something I regret now looking back on it. Garrus was obviously concerned, I could tell from the way he started acting around me, but he never actually mentioned it to my face. Not a first, anyway.

I don't know what triggered it, but Garrus acted a month after Rebecca's disappearance. It was what the turians would call an intervention, I guess. We were having dinner in the apartment; a sober affair at the best of times anyway, both of us eating our respective dishes. Garrus asked me to grab him a bottle of wine that he'd bought from the store the other day, so I went over and got it for him without a word. Before, it's the kind of thing I'd have made some awful joke about, him having an alcohol problem or something 'hilarious' like that, but I just slammed it down on the table next to him and walked back to my seat at the table. And suddenly, he just exploded with all the feelings he must have had pent up over the month.

"Alright, what the fuck is wrong with you?" he'd shouted, slamming his cutlery down and rising to his feet. "It's been a month, Ian! You're a ghost of the man you used to be!"

"I lost the woman I loved, Garrus," I'd replied in a monotone, still focused on my food. "That's what wrong with me." I said that, and then I'd put my knife and fork down as well and stood up to face him. "You don't know what I'm feeling, Garrus. So don't ask what's wrong with me."

"Bullshit!" The turian had snapped, his fury obvious. "Look at yourself, Ian! Rebecca's been taken, yet it's like you've gone missing as well!"

"I'm still torn up about this, Garrus!" I shouted back, the first time I'd actually gotten really emotional since Saleon took Rebecca. "You can't just expect me to shake it off!"

"I'm not!" He was practically screaming at this point. "But you've become self-destructive, you're shutting people out, you're…" His voice had suddenly lowered, and he'd stared at the ground like he was ashamed. "You're like my father after my mother died."

That's when it had all hit me. I hadn't had a conversation with Garrus like this for a month. I'd become someone I'm not, retreating into myself and focusing on nothing except routine and work…just like Garrus's father. Garrus already had to deal with losing a father like that, and now I was making him lose a friend as well in the same way.

"Rebecca wouldn't want you like this, Ian. She wouldn't want you like a shadow of your former self." I just stared at the floor after my revelation, as other feeling aside from the grief and numbness started to return. I realised how selfish I was being, what I'd done to the people around me… Garrus had just looked at me, slight sadness in his eyes. "She's still out there, Ian. Just…" He sighed then, turning and starting to head towards his room, before stopping just before he entered it and turning his head to look at me. "Think about it, alright?" And then he was gone, leaving me standing at the table, conflicting emotions tearing through my mind and haunting my thoughts when I finally managed to drag myself into bed. I realised he was right, what I'd let happen to me and what I'd done to the people around me was wrong, and it left a bitter taste. That night, I decided that I was done with grieving. Rebecca might still be out there, and my final thought before I drifted off was how to make it up to Garrus.

It was the deepest sleep I'd had since Saleon escaped.

Apologising was hard, especially after Garrus's outburst that night, but I managed it. When I saw him in the morning, I told him I'd thought about what he said, and that he was right. He stood there for a second after I'd said it, face revealing nothing, before suddenly breaking into a grin and saying something about 'how angst didn't suit me anyway.' That morning, the part of me I'd lost when Rebecca got captured came back. My determination. I fell back into my normal way of life then, albeit with a large Rebecca shaped hole in it, but I can deal with it now. She might still be out there, and that's the hope I cling onto every time I think of her. I kept the ring she bought as a constant reminder of that. Hopefully, once the transponder codes for Saleon's ship come through, I'll be able to finally use it.

With my emotional problems dealt with, looking to the future became the priority. In the short time between Rebecca's abduction and now, there've been whisperings about geth sightings beyond the Veil, rumours of some kind of synthetic army gathering. A lot of it is probably unfounded, but the few reports that hold some semblance of truth show me something. Eden Prime is coming. Shepard is coming. It might only be a matter of days until C-Sec is behind me, and a whole galaxy of adventure beckons. Every day I wake up is a day closer, and the excitement and worries are beginning to dawn. But I'm ready.

It's 2183. Shepard could be here any day now. And I can't wait.

###########

"Ian! Ian, wake up!"

I groan, trying to push the source of the surround away weakly, flailing my arms around as I gradually become conscious. What the hell does Garrus want this early…

"What?" I mutter, groggily. "Where's the fire?"

"On Eden Prime!" Garrus says frantically into my ear. "Look on the news channel!"

I spring out of bed as soon as he says Eden Prime, all tiredness forgotten. This is it! Mass Effect 1 has actually begun! I race into the main room, and stare intently at the screen displaying the report.

"The human colony of Eden Prime is under attack by geth forces," the reporter babbles frantically, barely able to control her voice with the excitement threatening to overcome her. Well, at least that makes two of us. "The colony was struck in what appears to be a motiveless attack by a geth unit, leaving many human casualties on the planet so far with the numbers mounting. The Council has dispatched reinforcements to the colony, but there are fears that this may be too little, too late." Heh, looks like that reporter hasn't banked on Commander Shepard turning up…it's so weird, actually hearing about events like this when I know what's happening on the Normandy at the moment, Shepard might be talking to Nihlus already, about to prepare the ground assault squad…

"The geth, created by the quarians four hundred years ago…" the reported continues, but Garrus lowers the volume when it becomes apparent she's just going off on some tangent to fill time.

"It's insane," he mutters darkly, turning to look at me. "The geth haven't been seen like this for a long time, not in my lifetime, and now they suddenly appear out nowhere on one of humanity's most valued colonies? There's got to be more to it than that, right?" I can hardly tell him that it's all part of a plan cooked up by a crazy Spectre and something most people believe is myth, so I just nod my head in a non-committal way and collapse onto the couch.

"It does seem odd," I admit, though that's about the full extent of how much I can voice my real opinion on the matter. "Christ, C-Sec's going to be in a bloody uproar if the geth seem to be at large…" As if on cue, both our omni-tools flare up and start beeping.

"Fifty credits says it's Pallin," I say, as I check the message. It is indeed from our beloved Executor, and the crux of the message is to get into C-Sec as fast as we can and that if we don't, the consequences will make us wish we'd never been born, or something suitably threatening like that.

"Charming," Garrus chuckles, as he finishes reading it and closes his omni-tool up. "Come on then, we don't want to keep Pallin waiting." You don't say, Garrus…no need to make Pallin more pissed off than he almost undoubtedly will be with all the things going on already…

##########

True to form, Pallin wasn't happy when we appeared. Even if we'd teleported in front of him the second he sent that message to us, I doubt he'd have been satisfied, but that's moot anyway. He basically just ranted at us for five minutes about the geth and new security protocols as if it were somehow our fault, then sent us both on our merry way to improve our terminal security in case of geth hacking attempts, and to 'remain vigilant for geth infiltration attempts onto the Citadel'. My quip about them being hard to miss because of the flashlight heads wasn't appreciated as much as I hoped, and I promptly left the office a few seconds later with my ears still ringing after Pallin shouted into them about how 'serious the situation is, and that it's no time to be making jokes!' When Sovereign gets onto the Citadel and starts tearing shit up, I won't be missing too much sleep if Pallin's part of the collateral damage…

Improving the terminal security wasn't exactly hard for people with an ounce of tech knowledge like Garrus and I, so most of the morning was spent helping other people out and keeping an eye on the news reports about Eden Prime throughout the day. It took about two hours, before the tone of the report suddenly changed as the anchorwoman suddenly received breaking news about geth forces pulling back, and that Commander Shepard of the Normandy had successfully managed to drive back the forces on the colony. This was met with much raucous applause and shouting throughout the office, which promptly ceased when Nihlus's death was reported afterwards. In the game, he wasn't much of a major character, but around C-Sec he was something of legend among the turian officers. Things quickly started building up again with reports of people from neighbouring planets and systems who were fleeing into the Citadel, leading to a lot more bureaucracy for everyone in the office, while I watched the clock and waited for the call from Pallin to start my final investigation.

It came at about two pm. The battle on Eden Prime had finished just less than three hours ago when Pallin finally called us into his office and ordered Garrus and I to sit down. Which is where we are now, waiting for our orders.

"I've just received a message from the Council," Pallin starts, looking a bit angry. That doesn't surprise me…from what it seems like, Saren and Pallin aren't bad friends, so the subject of this investigation is going to be less than ideal from the Executor's point of view. "Apparently, the human ambassador is demanding an official enquiry into the Spectre Saren Arterius." Good old Udina…the news gets a little gasp from Garrus, as I pull my fake surprised face in order to satisfy everyone in the room that I didn't know this was coming.

"Saren? Why?" Garrus asks incredulously, mandibles flared with surprise.

"Apparently, the human thinks Saren was responsible for the geth assault on the colony," Pallin mutters, shaking his head as he says the words. Oh dear, Pallin, how wrong you are… "The Council has no choice but to comply to his wishes after the actions of the Normandy and humanity in dealing with the crisis. C-Sec will be heading up the investigation."

"Specifically, Garrus and I will be leading up the investigation, right?" I butt in, already knowing the answer.

"Precisely." Pallin clasps his talons together. "Research Saren's activities as best you can and try to work out any leads available on them."

"But he's a Spectre," Garrus points out. "Surely all his activities will be classified…"

"I said, research his activities, Vakarian," Pallin interrupts, firmly. Oh, I see how this works! Pallin knows we'll find nothing, he'll satisfy the Council and Saren will be spared any kind of embarrassment…but he didn't bank on Dr. Michel having a lead for us, or Shepard showing up! "That will be all, detectives," he says, standing up and gesturing towards the door. This conversation is obviously over, but a whole new part of my life is about to begin…my hands are actually trembling as I leave the room and Garrus and I head back to our respective terminals, and start the long process of stonewalling that comes with researching a Spectre.

###########

"For fuck's sake!" Garrus shouts, three hours later, as his terminal lets off another pinging noise as access to yet another page on Saren is denied. "It's all classified! Every single thing!" He spins his chair around to look at me, anger written across his face.

"I know, this is bullshit," I respond, though I can't manage quite the same vehement anger when I knew it was coming in the first place. "Three hours and we're no further then we were when Pallin first gave us this."

"How does he expect us to do this…" he starts, but I just raise an eyebrow. Garrus catches on extremely quickly.

"Bastard…" he mutters, spinning around in his chair again, looking thoughtful. "Pallin knew this was going to happen. Right, that's it." He opens up his omni-tool, and starts typing away on it. I'd be prepared to put my life's wages as to who this message is going to be sent too.

"Who's that for?"

"Chloe Michel," he replies, without looking up.

"Your girlfriend?" I feel a little pang when I say the word, but I bury it as quickly as I can. Now's not the time.

Garrus growls softly, as he presses the send button. "Michel's usually got her ear to the ground," he admits. "People who come into med clinics injured have usually been up to no good. It's a long shot, but maybe she's heard something?" Not a long shot at all, Garrus…Michel's treated a very important person, the person who's got the information to get Saren stripped of his Spectrehood…

It takes five minutes for Michel to get back to Garrus. He scans through the message, the frown on his face gradually changing into a smile the more and more he reads.

"What? What does it say?"

"She got something for us," he crows. "Get the cruiser, we're going to the med clinic." We both stand up at the same time, just as both our omni-tools go off. Of course, Pallin will want to see us before we have time to pursue the lead…

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Garrus hisses, reading the message. "You got that?"

"I've got it," I reply. Pallin wants to see us in the area where the hearing's going to start…that means Shepard's in town. It's time. "We'd better go there first, then," I sigh. "Don't want to keep Pallin waiting."

"Indeed," Garrus nods, as we both head out the main doors to get the cruiser, and I'm barely able to contain my excitement. As soon as we get there and talk to Pallin, Shepard is going to turn up next to us and everything's going to begin from there. Saren, the Reapers, the Normandy…it's all a matter of minutes away. I can barely contain myself as I buckle into the cruiser and we speed off towards the Citadel Tower.

###########

"Saren's hiding something! Give me more time! Stall them!"

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, detectives." Pallin starts to walk away, and Garrus and I both turn to our right, both knowing exactly who's going to be standing there. This is it, Shepard is going to right there, this is where it all begins…

"Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian." He says.

"Ian ******…" I turn, and as soon as my eyes hit the Commander's face something starts to feel horribly wrong. My head starts aching, my vision starts to blur, what the hell…

The Reaper's roar whirling around my head again, the images of unspeakable pain and destruction projected into my mind with unforgiving clarity. The Collectors, those DNA strands whirling hypnotically…before the chaos rips me out my trance as the Reaper screams at the weapon being fired into the sky, the scene shifts, another human falls to the ground and the scream of pain from the Reaper changes to one of triumph…and this time, the human isn't a silhouette. I can see straight into her silently screaming face, eyes boreing right through mine, looping over and over again in my mind…

As the world around me suddenly comes back into focus, no time seemingly having passed during the vision, the terrifying realisation hits me.

The person in my vision.

It's Shepard.

Don't freak out.

**END OF PART ONE**

**A/N: That's it, Masses to Masses 1 is done! Like I said before, it's been quite the ride. Looking back at the earlier chapters and what it's become now…I'm amazed. The amount of reviews, people reading and all that stuff is beyond anything I'd imagined. Everyone here, readers and reviewers alike, I can't thank you enough for your continued support throughout the whole process. It's been epic. **

**That said, I believe some shoutouts are in order for those consistent reviewers! So, without further ado, here we are:**

**City of Dis**

**justsomebody2**

**russianbear0027**

**YoshisSupport**

**porcupinetheater (I owe you a review, I know, I'll get it done!)**

**Sarge1995**

**Lunatic Pandora1**

**Herr Wozzeck**

**Kassandra Black**

**CitadelGamesSalesman**

**Super-Saiyan-3-Vegeta**

**tregarde**

**AngelSnake**

**The website's messing up a lot, so I can't check back…if I've missed anyone, I'll add you to the list when I find out who you are ;-)**

**And of course, my close friends on the site for their continued support:**

**Herr Wozzeck**

**porcupinetheater**

**Kassandra Black**

**Well, that's all from me for now…I'll be back with Masses to Masses 2, but first a break. Expect to see me back maybe November time, or the start of December. I need a holiday :-). What does Ian's final vision there mean? What shenanigans are Ian and Garrus going to get up to on the Normandy? Will he ever find Rebecca? All questions for the next instalment…**

**Which is out now! Woohoo!**

**I'm outro. It's been a pleasure to write this, so much fun, reading all your reviews, seeing all those favourites and subscriptions…thank you all so much for making me a very happy guy.**

**See you next time.**

**Ian.**


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